4,745 schools lack separate girls’ toilets: SC asks Centre to focus on rural, tribal areas

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to ensure that schools in rural and tribal areas have separate toilets for girl students, stressing that children from economically weaker sections in remote regions should not be deprived of basic hygiene facilities.

The direction came on Tuesday as the Union government informed the court that separate girls’ toilets still need to be built in 4,745 schools across the country.

97.3 per cent schools have functional girls’ toilets

Government data submitted before the bench showed that India had around 1.47 million schools as per the 2024-25 Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) survey.

Of these, 97.3 per cent were reported to have functional toilets for girls. The remaining 2.7 per cent represented 39,729 schools.

The Centre told the court that separate girls’ toilets have since been provided in 30,458 of these schools, while construction is underway in another 4,236. This leaves 4,745 schools where the facility is yet to be provided.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan allowed states and Union territories to undertake the remaining work but asked the Centre to pay particular attention to rural and tribal regions.

“You must focus more on schools in rural and tribal areas where the students hail from poor strata of society,” the bench said.

Centre asked to ensure funding

The court specifically referred to states including Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar, where schools in remote locations may face infrastructure shortages.

“You must proceed in this direction as there are schools in remote areas in Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar which hardly have proper infrastructure,” the court told the Centre.

It also asked the government to ensure funding through existing schemes so that girls have access to clean toilets and sanitary facilities.

Menstrual hygiene facilities mandated

The proceedings followed the Supreme Court’s January 30 judgment, which held menstrual hygiene to be a fundamental right. The court had directed authorities to provide facilities including separate toilets, sanitary pad vending machines, menstrual hygiene corners and spare clothes for girls in Classes VI to XII.

Additional solicitors general Aishwarya Bhati and Archana Pathak Dave represented the Centre’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Women and Child Welfare and submitted the compliance details.

The matter originated from a petition filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who highlighted the impact of inadequate menstrual hygiene facilities on girls’ education.

The Supreme Court has scheduled the matter for further consideration on September 29.