Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dullu said that zone-level committees will be formed for effective implementation.
Jagran correspondent, Jammu. Chief Secretary Atal Dullu has issued instructions to provide separate toilet facilities for girl students in all the government schools of the state by 15th February. He gave clear instructions that all the toilets for girl students should be fully functional and this target should be achieved by 15th February under any circumstances.
The Chief Secretary organized a special meeting with the concerned officials on Monday and reviewed the toilet facilities for girl students in government schools. Additional Chief Secretary of Public Works Department (PWD), Secretary of School Education Department, Director of School Education, Chief Engineers and other senior officers were present in the review meeting.
Reviewing the infrastructure created under various schemes to ensure sanitation facilities to students, the Chief Secretary said that clean and functional toilets are essential to ensure attendance, continuity and dignity of girl students. He said that merely erecting the structure is not enough, but it is necessary to ensure that all the toilets have all the necessary facilities including availability of water.
All work should be completed by 15th February
He made a detailed assessment of the toilets constructed, toilets under construction and their current condition and directed that all the work related to the construction and repair of toilets for girl students should be completed by 15th February. Besides, the School Education Department was instructed to make the already constructed toilets fully functional before the stipulated time.
To ensure effective implementation at the ground level, the Chief Secretary directed the formation of zone-level committees comprising officials from the School Education Department and Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department. These committees will conduct joint inspection and identify deficiencies, assess the need for repairs and improvements and monitor the works. Additional Chief Secretary, PWD, Anil Kumar Singh said in the meeting that the department is committed to complete all the assigned works within the stipulated time.
Pre-fabricated toilets will be installed
He said that where construction is not possible on time, pre-fabricated toilets will be installed so that the facilities can be provided ahead of time. School Education Department Secretary Ram Niwas Sharma said that out of the total 18,724 government schools in the Union Territory, toilet facilities are available in 18,023 schools (99.25 per cent). Of these, 17,403 schools (92.29 per cent) have separate toilets for girl students, while 1,321 schools (7.71 per cent) do not currently have this facility.
He informed that at present the construction work of 265 girls toilets is in progress, while the work has been started in the remaining 1,056 schools in a time bound manner. All these works will be completed before the new academic session in winter zone schools and by February 15 in summer zone schools.