HP. Govt. Schools Missing Basic Facilities  

Shimla, Dec 2 – In sharp contrast to Prime Minister’s dream to make India Digital India; especially during Covid time when education is being imparted digitally; the State has a very dismal picture to portray as less than 20 percent of government schools in Himachal Pradesh have computer and internet facilities, according to data compiled by education authorities under the Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE).

There are 267 government schools without a toilet for girls, and 664 schools do not have electricity, according to the statistical data which was compiled by Samagra Shiksha officials for the year 2019-20.

There are more than 15 thousand schools under the state department of education, and a little less than 20 percent of them have computers. Around 14 percent of the schools have an internet facility, and in the district of Lahaul-Spiti, only two out of 250 schools have this facility, the data says. The percentage of primary and middle schools having the internet is less than two percent, while the ratio is 49 percent and 83.5 percent in secondary and higher secondary schools.

There are 15 schools without drinking water facility and 448 schools do not have a toilet for boys. Around 20 percent of the schools do not have ramps for children with special needs, and 25 percent of schools do not have a playground. There is no library in nearly 13 percent of the schools and 34 percent of schools do not have a boundary wall.

In the primary schools, 13 percent of over 33 thousand classrooms require major repairs, according to the data. The drop-out rate in secondary schools and Class XI ranges from 7 to 8 percent.

Total number of govt schools in HP – 15,330
Schools without drinking water – 15
Schools without girls’ toilet – 267
Schools without boys’ toilet – 448
Schools without electricity – 664
Schools without library – 1,937
Schools without playground – 25 percent
Schools without boundary wall – 34 percent