Success Story of Co-ed Toilet construction project under GAIL CSR at Petlawad block of Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA

Education and health are inseparable. Nutrition deficiencies, diarrhea and worm infestations are all related to poor sanitation facilities – and all affect school participation and learning. It is found that schools with proper sanitation facilities can effectively reduce the transmission of diseases. More than 40 per cent of diarrhea cases in schoolchildren result from transmission in schools rather than homes. Globally, around 2.65 billion people live without access to proper toilet facilities, and 883 million don’t have access to safe water. Provision of sanitation facilities in Schools can help mitigate the risks and overcome the challenges. So proper sanitation facilities in schools is the first step towards ensuring a healthy physical learning environment. Many research studies suggest that schools with usable toilets can effectively increase attendance and learning outcomes.

In nutshell, availability of usable toilets in the schools have following benefits:

• Reduction in dropout rates especially of girls’ students and thus reduces gender disparity in education;


• Increase in attendance and learning outcomes by a healthy physical learning environment;


• Reduction in transmission of diseases like diarrhoea and worm infestations among children from schools to homes.


• Fostering self respect and dignity among students particularly girl students;


• Disseminates healthy practices among families and communities through students;

The education for women is believed to contribute not only to their individual and household prosperity and health but more generally to the development of nation. However, despite growing efforts by Govt. to reduce the gender disparity in education, most of the developing countries in the world will not be able to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing gender disparity in education in primary & secondary education by 2015. Different studies have shown that poor sanitation, especially not having separate girls’ toilets is causing absenteeism and dropout of girl students from the schools.  Girls in developing countries, for example, often report that issues related to managing menstrual hygiene cause them to be absent from school, frequently a first step towards dropping out altogether. Thus provision of separate sanitation facilities for girl students is the necessity for attaining the objective of reducing gender disparity in education.

Looking at the grim situation, The Supreme Court, in May 2014, has ruled that all schools must have separate toilets for boys and girls and also facilities for water for drinking and other purposes. The court stated that "Separate toilets for girls and boys as well as availability of water are essential for basic human rights that enhance the atmosphere where the education is imparted. It can also be put in the compartment of basic needs and requirements in schools."

Toilet indicators of Madhya Pradesh:

Norms - % of schools meeting norms

Toilet facility but not usable - 34%

No separate toilet for girls - 33.7%

No toilet facility - 9%

Separate provision but unlocked - 39.4

As per Annual Survey of Education Report (ACER) 2014, only 53.3 % schools in the country has available and usable girls’ toilets. The state of Madhya Pradesh is lagging behind in terms of providing proper sanitation facilities in the schools. About 33.7 % schools have no separate toilet for girls, while out of the schools having available separate girls’ toilets, 34 % toilets are found as ‘not usable’

This issue was highlighted by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in his Independence Day speech on 15th August 2015 and requested the corporate and ministers to focus on this issue through their allotted funds on social development. Thus separate toilets for girls is expected to decrease the dropout rate of girl students and shall also ensure health benefits and better cleanliness of school premises. Therefore construction of separate toilets for girl students in Govt. schools is among the top priority of Govt. of India.

In the tribal dominated Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh( MP) -the Central part of India,  there are about 2.37 lacs students studying in about 2500 govt. schools out of which girls’ students are about 1.01 lacs. While In 45 pipeline villages of GAIL( Gas Authority of India limited- a Government of India undertaking) )  in Petlawad, Rama and Jhabua blocks,MP,  out of 172 schools having girls’ students there is need of separate girls’ toilets in 142 schools. GAIL has sectioned 76 co-ed toilet block construction project to Gramin Vikas Trust M.P. in Petlwad block of Jhabua district.

GVT( Gramin Vikas Trust-A National level Development Organization)  M.P. started the survey of school and land demarking for toilet blocks. All GVT M.P. team involved in this project. APO's were especially responsible for toilet construction as clusters wise. Daily progress reports were submitted to GAIL and appraised them to day by day work of ongoing project. After tackling all initial  challenges GVT M.P. successfully completed the construction work of 76 toilet blocks till 31.01.2016. After that maintenance work of toilet is started. Some cleaners were appointed for the cleaning of toilets in every cluster.The total numbers of enrolled students was 88 in 2015-16 including 38 boys and 44 girls, while  after the construction of co-ed toilets in this schools the attendance of girls and boys students had increased signiifacntly, attendance of girls enrolled students’ graphs was also reflecting  upward trend and all girls appeared in the final exam with 100% attendance. He also told that number of admission in future  would also increase a lot. The drops out graphs of students  also reflected diminishing trend. He appreciated the GVT initiative and GAIL work  .