80% of Karnataka Government Schools Surveyed Have Poor Sanitation, Finds CJP

A campaign survey of more than 50 government schools in Karnataka has found that a large majority of them face sanitation problems, alongside shortages of teachers. The organisers point to the deployment of teaching staff for electoral work as one of the reasons for classrooms being left short-handed.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is running a national campaign called ‘School Thik Karo’, said around 80% of the schools its teams visited over about a month were in an unsanitary condition. The findings are based on the organisation’s interactions with students, teachers and other staff, and have not been independently verified.

In recent days, CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and national secretary Afreen Nawaz, along with team members, visited four government schools in Bengaluru — in J.P. Nagar, Marathahalli, Yeshwantpur and Varthur, where the Government Urdu School was surveyed.

Teachers drawn into SIR duty

The team said that many teachers had been assigned SIR (Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls) duty, which takes them away from classrooms. According to Mr. Ranka, eight of the nine teachers at a school in Sarjapur were on SIR duty, as were three of the four teachers at the Marathahalli school.

“A teacher’s time is precious, and five months of a calendar year are being wasted. The Election Commission should come up with an alternative plan,” he said.

Toilets and buildings

Toilet hygiene was a major concern at the Marathahalli school. At the J.P. Nagar school, infrastructure was generally found to be good, but washroom conditions needed attention, the team said.

“The school administration has reported a lack of budget for cleaning staff. The cleaning staff comes only once a week,” Mr. Ranka said.

At the Varthur school, the team described the infrastructure as severely dilapidated. About 150 children are studying in two classrooms, and the ceiling of one room was found to be on the verge of collapsing, Mr. Ranka said. Repair work began after the team raised the issue.

Recruitment concerns raised by youth

Ms. Nawaz said that during the campaign’s social media outreach, young people from the State reported problems with Karnataka Public Service Commission recruitment as a major concern.

Findings taken to Education Minister

The delegation raised its observations in a meeting with Karnataka Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa. Details of the Minister’s response were not immediately available.

The CJP has appealed to members of the public to join the campaign and report schools in their localities that need attention.

Why the findings matter

Clean and functional toilets, drinking water and adequate teaching staff are among the basic facilities schools are expected to provide under the Right to Education Act. The campaign’s central criticism is that teachers are being drawn into non-teaching work during the school year, cutting into time meant for instruction.

The organisation says its teams have visited more than 50 government schools in Karnataka so far and will continue documenting conditions before presenting a fuller account to the authorities.