Congress MP raises concern over lack of toilets for girl students in govt schools, asks “Is Beti Bachao only for speeches?”

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan on Monday raised concerns in the Rajya Sabha over the lack of separate toilets for girl students in government schools and urged the Centre to conduct an immediate nationwide survey of school infrastructure.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, the Congress leader from Chhattisgarh said the ground reality of the government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative was far from its stated objectives. She said that despite repeated campaigns promoting girls’ education, many schools still lack basic sanitation facilities necessary for their safety and dignity.

“There are slogans from various platforms, but there is not even a toilet for girl students in schools,” Ranjan said, questioning whether the programme was confined largely to speeches and advertisements rather than improvements on the ground.

Citing a recent report, she said more than 5,000 schools in Chhattisgarh do not have separate toilets for girls. She added that the Chhattisgarh High Court had termed the situation “shameful” and sought a response from the state government on the matter.

Highlighting the scale of the problem across the country, Ranjan said the issue was not limited to one state. According to available data, around 10,000 schools nationwide reportedly lack toilet facilities altogether , reflecting serious gaps in basic infrastructure.

Referring to national statistics, she said a 2014–15 survey covering 14.72 lakh schools found that many institutions lacked adequate facilities for girl students. In Bihar , only 23 per cent of schools have separate toilets for girls, while in Uttar Pradesh the figure stands at 69 per cent . In Jammu and Kashmir , she said 1,321 government schools reportedly do not have toilets.

She also cited data from UNICEF , which indicates that 22 per cent of schools lack basic facilities for girls . As a result, nearly 2.3 crore girls drop out of school due to the absence of essential amenities such as clean water, soap and sanitary napkins.

Emphasising the need for urgent intervention, Ranjan urged the central government to conduct a comprehensive nationwide survey of school infrastructure on a war footing and ensure that every government school provides separate, clean toilets along with water, soap and sanitary napkins for girl students.

She said improving sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools was essential to ensure that girls can continue their education with dignity and without barriers.