Nearly 100,000 public schools still lack girls’ toilets in India: Report
Indian government report reveals major gaps in public education system, with thousands of schools lacking toilets, water and electricity
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A report released by NITI Aayog, Indian government’s top public policy and planning body, has revealed that nearly 100,000 government-run schools across the country still do not have functional toilets for girls, exposing deep infrastructure gaps in the education system serving hundreds of millions of students.
The report found that 98,592 public schools lacked usable girls’ toilets, while 61,540 schools had no functional toilets at all despite years of government campaigns focused on sanitation and education access.
India has around 1.47 million schools serving more than 246 million students, making it one of largest education systems in the world.
Government data tracking India’s school system showed that roughly 119,000 schools still lack electricity connections, limiting access to lighting, fans, computers and digital learning tools in classrooms.
Another 14,505 schools do not have functional drinking water facilities, while nearly 59,829 schools lack hand-washing infrastructure, raising concerns over student health and hygiene conditions, particularly in rural and low-income regions.
Education advocates in India have long argued that inadequate sanitation disproportionately affects girls, especially adolescents, contributing to absenteeism and school dropouts in conservative and economically disadvantaged communities.
The report also highlighted severe teacher shortages in remote parts of the country. More than 100,000 schools operate with only one teacher responsible for teaching multiple grades while simultaneously handling administrative duties.
Such “multi-grade classrooms” often place students of different ages and academic levels in same room, limiting individual attention and reducing overall quality of learning.
In another sign of administrative inefficiencies, 7,993 schools reported zero student enrollment yet continued receiving government funding and staff allocations because of outdated official records.
States such as West Bengal and Telangana recorded the highest numbers of such schools, according to the report.
While school dropout rates have improved compared to previous years, 11.5% of students still leave the education system at secondary level before completing school.
The report also showed declining confidence in India’s public education system. Enrollment in government-run schools fell from 71% in 2005 to 49.24% in 2024–25 as growing numbers of families shifted children to private institutions despite higher costs.
Meanwhile, the total number of schools across India declined from 1.56 million in 2017–18 to 1.47 million in 2024–25, a reduction of nearly 92,000 schools.
Government officials linked decline partly to “school consolidation” measures under Samagra Shiksha, a nationwide education reform program aimed at merging smaller schools and redistributing resources.
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