Child Rights.

School is a learning environment to educate students under the direction of educators. According to Child Rights and You (CRY) report of 2016, more than 94% of schools in 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh, including state capital Bhopal, are without electricity and lack basic infrastructure. There is infrastructural gap in compliance of Right to Education Act, 2009. There are 141 primary and 42 secondary schools in MP.

According to the survey report of CRY, 183 schools have no sufficient benches which make students to sit on rugs and mats and even to sit on the floor. Less than 51% schools have no playground. Many schools not have drinking facility. Out of them rest use hand pumps for drinking water. Students hardly get clean water to drink. It is mandatory for schools to have a separate kitchen to prepare mid-day meals, but in 27% of schools, mid-day meals was either not being cooked inside a designated kitchen or schools not have a kitchen space at all. More than 24% of school kitchens were in a bad condition and mid-day meals are not being served in 4% of the schools. Most of the schools not follow the prescribed menu. None of the schools have housekeeping staff, the report said. 8% of schools have no toilets while in the remaining 49% of schools, toilets are unused.

Some other findings in the survey report says that around 90% schools are functioning without a headmaster and with huge shortage of teachers. In 26% of the schools, members of the management committee were not aware that they are part of the board. Quality infrastructure and quality workforce are a huge impact on education and retention of students. School facilities are affecting student health, safety, and learning opportunities and having a greater impact on students’ achievements.

Across 190 schools showcase the state of school infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh. The state government’s first priority is to make the state literate. Schools are opening to meet requirement. Water is a big problem and state government is trying to address the issue. Target is to provide electricity to the total of 1, 29,000 schools to the end of 2018 by using solar energy.