Poor upkeep of toilets puts off schoolchildren

Kukatpally: The saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover' goes well in the case of Mandal Parishad Primary School (MPPS) and Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Kukatpally. The schools look like those schools which have all the basic facilities, but the reality is quite opposite. There is a separate building for primary school girls, primary school boys and co-education for high school.

The students of MPP/ZPHS say they are suffering untold hardships due to sanitation problems and lack of cleanliness as well as basic facilities. Lack of proper maintenance is one of the reasons for students not being able to use the toilets.

When The Hans India visited the school on Wednesday, there was an unpleasant smell outside the washrooms of boys and girls. A few students from the school said that they hesitated to visit these washrooms due to the unpleasant smell that emanates from the washroom. The washrooms are not being cleaned due to which the students have to control until the last bell.

Speaking to The Hans India, Sugnani, the head-master of the primary school, said, "There are a total of 247 students, out of which 139 are girls and 108 students are boys. The admissions of boys began in the year 2015. The main issue in this school is lack of benches and cleanliness of toilets. There are 3 washrooms allotted each for girls and boys." He further added, "This school was a Telugu medium before 2015.

However, later this school was made an English medium school. Students are still unable to learn and speak English language properly due to lack of English workbooks and textbooks, which is resulting in their bad English communication skills."

Speaking to The Hans India, Narendra Reddy, the head-master of high school, said, "There are a total of 966 students at the school, out of which 479 are boys and 487 are girls. There are three floors and all the floors have two washrooms, one for boys and the other for girls. Each washroom has 7 units. But due to lack of cleanliness, the washrooms are not being used by these children."

He further added, "There is only one washroom cleaner allotted for the complete school by the government. Left with no other choice, we request her to clean the washrooms one by one on separate days. There is also lack of benches at this school. The high school needs around 100 benches.

There are only 12 teachers, of whom only one teaches 'Hindi.' Due to more number of students and only one teacher for the subject, he has to combine students of different classes and teach them in one room which is not sufficient for the students and also the teacher."

Gauri, a student of Class 8, said, "We have to either use these unhygienic washrooms or sometimes go without them. There are days we endure unspeakable hardships because of lack of water, unpleasant smell and unhygienic washrooms. It is difficult for us to use these washrooms. The available washrooms are not enough for us."