Parliament Question: Construction of Girls' Toilets under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 178 ANSWERED ON 01/12/2025 Construction of Girls' Toilets under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan 178. Shri Tharaniventhan M S: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has made provisions under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan for the construction of girls’ toilets and access to drinking water in schools; (b) if so, the funds allocated for the construction of girls’ toilets and drinking water facilities in schools under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan within Tamil Nadu so far; (c) the details of the number of schools that have benefited from the provision of girls’ toilets and drinking water facilities under the scheme so far; (d) the measures being taken/to be taken by the Government to ensure that all schools, particularly in rural and remote areas, have adequate infrastructure for girls’ toilets and drinking water facilities; and (e) the details of impact of these provisions on the enrolment, retention and overall performance of girls in schools? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (e): The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education is implementing Samagra Shiksha from 2018-19 to support States and UTs for strengthening of existing Government schools and for creation and augmentation of infrastructure facilities including separate toilets for girls, based on the gaps determined from Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) and proposals received from respective State/ Union Territory. The need for schools and also the infrastructural facilities in schools including separate toilets for boys and girls are worked out every year by the respective State/Union Territory on incremental basis depending on their need and priority and reflected in their Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B). These plans are then appraised and approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) in the Department of School Education & Literacy in consultation with the States and Union Territories.Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education had launched Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative (SVI), in partnership with Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Private Corporates, to provide separate toilets for girls and boys in all Government schools. Under the initiative, 4,17,796 toilets, including 1.91 lakh girls’ toilets, were completed in 2,61,400 Government Elementary and Secondary schools. Further, this Department in convergence with Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation and Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs is working to provide 100% availability of separate functional girls’ toilets and providing drinking water facilities in all Government and Government aided schools across the country. An amount of Rs. 9884.33 lakh has been allocated for construction of 3888 Girls’ toilets and Rs. 936.06 lakh has been allocated for provision of drinking water facilities in 831 Schools to the State of Tamil Nadu from 2018-19 to 2025-26. As per UDISE+ 2024-25, 97.1% of Government & Government Aided Schools have Girls’ toilets and 99.3% Schools have Drinking Water Facilities across the Country. The State-wise details has been enclosed at Annexure. The initiatives taken by the Government of India under Samagra Shiksha for ensuring availability of functional girls’ toilets and access to safe drinking water in schools have a positive impact on girls’ education across the country. The sustained focus on strengthening school infrastructure has contributed significantly to, improved Enrolment of Girls; Higher Retention and Reduction in Dropouts and Enhanced Learning Outcomes and Participation of Girls’ Students in Schools. The Gender Parity Index of Gross enrolment ratio of 1.0 for Foundational Stage; 1.0 for Preparatory Stage; 1.0 for Middle Stage and 1.1 for Secondary Stage in 2024-25 is indicating no difference in enrolment of girls & boys. ***ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 178 ANSWERED ON 01st DECEMBER, 2025 ASKED BY HON’BLE MP SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S REGARDING CONSTRUCTION OF GIRLS' TOILETS UNDER SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN Government & Government Aided State/ UTs Schools with facility of Girls Toilets (%) Drinking Water (%) India 97.1 99.3 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 100.0 100.0 Andhra Pradesh 98.9 100.0 Arunachal Pradesh 89.5 91.1 Assam 98.2 98.9 Bihar 98.7 99.8 Chandigarh 100.0 100.0 Chhattisgarh 94.7 99.4 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 99.7 100.0 Delhi 100.0 100.0 Goa 100.0 100.0 Gujarat 98.5 99.9 Haryana 99.8 100.0 Himachal Pradesh 99.4 100.0 Jammu and Kashmir 90.2 99.6 Jharkhand 98.4 99.1 Karnataka 98.9 99.9 Kerala 99.7 99.9 Ladakh 91.2 98.6 Lakshadweep 100.0 100.0 Madhya Pradesh 97.5 99.5 Maharashtra 97.0 99.8 Manipur 79.2 99.7 Meghalaya 84.4 72.7 Mizoram 86.1 94.1 Nagaland 88.6 88.0 Odisha 99.0 100.0 Puducherry 100.0 100.0 Punjab 99.2 100.0 Rajasthan 94.3 99.0 Sikkim 98.4 99.9 Tamil Nadu 94.8 99.7 Telangana 94.0 99.4 Tripura 91.2 97.4 Uttar Pradesh 97.3 99.8 Uttarakhand 97.9 99.2 West Bengal 99.7 99.9 Source: UDISE+ 2024-25