A question by an opposition MLA over the condition of government schools had the Uttar Pradesh government claiming temporary electricity connection and model toilets in schools that did not exist in Saharanpur.
Samajwadi Party MLA Sanjay Garg asked Satish Dwivedi, the minister of state (independent charge) basic education, about the poor infrastructure of the government primary schools run in 42 buildings in Saharanpur city. His question highlighted the 20 schools run in government buildings without electricity connection in addition to the seven run in private buildings that were functioning without any such connection.
Garg pointed out that most schools had toilets without any overhead tanks, and where these tanks were available, there was no submersible (in addition to no electricity). Thus, the tanks remained empty and the toilets dirty and stinky.
Lack of provision for appointment of sanitation workers in schools was a challenge. Garg’s query named schools where the infrastructure was so poor that children were forced to study in the open, and others which got flooded with minimum rain. Most government schools in the city had no furniture; those that had were so poor in quality that it was practically useless. The impact of these shortfalls was that the number of dropouts was on the rise.
The Uttar Pradesh government’s response was that “temporary electricity connections” had been made available in all schools. Garg, who represents Saharanpur in the Vidhan Sabha asked whether a temporary connection meant a “katiya” (illegal) connection.
“There is no provision for a temporary connection to schools by the electricity department. If the government claims that these schools have connections, there would be a meter reading and bill. My question is based on personal visits and monitoring of schools in my constituency,” Garg told The Week. In a follow-up question, Garg named the schools which did not have any pre-existing connections contrary to the government’s claims.
“The officials of the department are misleading this House,” Garg said in the UP Assembly.
On the issue of poor toilets, the government response was that model toilets were being constructed in nine primary schools. Garg pointed out to the House that five of the schools mentioned did not even exist, thus there could be no possibility of constructing any toilet in the same.
Garg told The Week that government schools in the city were worse off than those in villages. “In the rural areas, funds from the panchayats have been used in many instances to improve school infrastructure. In the cities, the attitude is that since there are so many private English medium schools, the government can pay minimal attention to the government schools as parents would prefer sending their children to private schools anyway.”
Garg has also asked for an amendment to rules on how a MLA can utilize his funds. “MLAs adopting some schools and turning them into models can be one solution,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minister in charge has promised an investigation into the condition of primary government schools in Saharanpur.
