Vaishali: An alarming state of disrepair is plaguing several government schools across the Vaishali district, with poor infrastructure and pathetic facilities creating a deeply challenging and often unsafe learning environment, especially for girl students. Reports indicate a serious failure in providing basic amenities mandated under the Right to Education Act.
The crisis reached a peak recently when girl students at a government school in Mahnar protested the abysmal conditions, even reportedly resorting to vandalizing an Education Department official’s vehicle out of frustration. Investigations revealed a shocking level of neglect in institutions like the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Mahnar.
In many government schools across the district, classrooms are severely overcrowded. In one extreme case reported, over 200 girl students were crammed into a single classroom meant for 50, leading to several students fainting due to heat and humidity. Teachers are often forced to take classes in corridors or combine multiple grade levels in a single room, effectively crippling the teaching process.
One of the most pressing concerns, particularly for girl students, is the lack of proper and functional sanitation facilities. Many schools reportedly lack adequate separate toilets for girls, and where they do exist, they are often locked or in a state of serious disrepair with no running water. The absence of clean drinking water facilities is another widespread problem.
Furthermore, several schools lack proper boundary walls, leaving students exposed and raising significant safety concerns, especially when combined with the lack of adequate staff. For girl students, the lack of private and hygienic washrooms is a major barrier, contributing to low attendance rates, particularly during menstruation, despite recent government mandates for 75 percent attendance.
Official data for the district paints a grim picture, with hundreds of schools reportedly functioning without their own building, boundary walls, or even adequate land. Teachers and staff in many schools acknowledge the pathetic conditions but state their pleas to the local administration for basic facilities like benches, desks, and structural repairs often go unanswered.
The conditions highlight a critical failure in the implementation of educational standards, putting the academic progress and well-being of thousands of children in Vaishali, especially young women, at risk. Local residents and education rights activists are demanding immediate intervention from the state government to allocate necessary funds and ensure rapid infrastructural development before the neglected buildings pose a physical hazard.