Apex Court Directs Schools to Must Have Separate Toilets for Boys and Girls

The Supreme Court ruled out that separate toilets provision for boys and girls as well as facility of clean drinking water are vital part of Right to Education and hence all schools including the education institutions run by Minority community must comply with the directions of installing and setting up these basic human requirements.

Bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice V Gopala Gowda on 6 May said that the judgment passed by 5-judge constitution bench, who had liberated the minority-run schools of admitting children belonging to EWS category under the Right to Education Act, had not diluted the mandate of the RTE Act for basic toilet and drinking water facilities in all education institutes and schools.

Seeing that Andhra Pradesh government did not comply with the court’s order of setting up drinking water facilities and separate toilets for girls and boys in large number of schools, the state's Principal Secretary has been directed to present itself before the court to explain the current scenario and  exact position.

The Principal Secretary need to file an affidavit and shall remain personally present on the next date of hearing -- 7 July 2014.

A bench of justices told that not having these basic facilities installed as well not meeting requisite teaching and non-teaching faculty  and staff for imparting quality education can cause ‘dent in the schooling and education system’ in their opinion.

The bench refused the explanation that state gave regarding compliance, it asked for more time to comply with all the directions, which SC rejected.