Over 34,000 Odisha Schools Lack Toilet, Drinking Water Facilities, Several Institutes Running Without Power Supply

As many as 90 schools in Odisha do not have blackboards and 34,394 schools have no toilet and drinking water facilities till March last year, the state Assembly was informed on Wednesday. Besides, 35,769 schools have no electricity till 2018-19 financial year, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said while replying to a question. He said 37,645 schools in the state do not have playgrounds, 2,451 schools have no library facility and 16,368 schools have no boundary walls.

Besides schools run by the school and mass education department, the state has institutes managed by the SC&ST department. There are also government-aided schools under private management. The minister's written reply did not mention under which category these schools fall. Dash, however, said 51,434 primary, upper primary and high schools run by the school and mass education department have drinking water facilities. Replying to another question, the minister said the annual average dropout rate in primary schools in Odisha was 5.42 per cent while it was 6.93 per cent in upper primary, and 5.41 per cent in secondary schools during 2018-19.

While the state of affairs is extremely deplorable in Odisha, neighbouring Bihar is aiming for better schooling experience for students. Recently, the Nitish Kumar government on Tuesday presented a Rs 2.11 lakh crore budget for 2020-21 with special emphasis on education, health and infrastructure. Presenting the budget with a revenue surplus of Rs 19,172.80 crore, state Finance Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the proposed allocations made for 2020-21 are Rs 11,260.48 crore more than the current fiscal's. The surplus revenue will be used for investment in the creation of assets such as roads, buildings, power infra, schools and health centres, Modi said.

Bihar's budget has increased eight times to touch Rs 2,11,761.49 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 23,885 crore in 2004-05, Modi said in his 11th Budget speech. "The increase in the size of the budget indicates that the state is witnessing a growth of double-digit for the past several years and we expect that we will be able to maintain the high growth momentum in the future as well," he told reporters after the budget presentation. The state government has made the highest allocation of Rs 35,191.05 crore to the education department. Besides, Rs 17,345 crore was allocated for road building and Rs 10,937.68 crore was earmarked for healthcare.