'Form Of Oppression': Chhattisgarh High Court Seeks Education Secretary's Personal Affidavit Over Lack Of Girls' Toilets In Govt Schools

The Chhattisgarh High Court has lamented the glaring inadequacy of toilets for girls in schools and the abysmal conditions of the existing ones across the State, and has consequently directed the Secretary, School Education Department to file his personal affidavit with respect to the same.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, while monitoring a PIL filed in 2025 on a similar issue, took note of a recent news-report published in a Hindi Daily, highlighting the glaring lack of toilets for girls in schools and the abysmal conditions of the existing ones across the State.The report stated that more than 5,000 schools across Chhattisgarh lack girls' toilets, while more than 8,000 schools have toilets in abysmal conditions. With reference to Bilaspur, the report revealed that more than 160 schools faced a major toilet problem, and there were more than 200 schools where toilets are available but not usable. The report further revealed that of the 56,615 operational schools, 54,715 had toilets for girls, but only 52,545 were usable. The situation is similar for male students— 53,142 schools had toilets, but only 49,355 were stated to be functional. This implied that 4,070 schools have no toilets for girls and 7,260 for boys. The report further revealed that children and teachers– who were suffering the consequences in the form of urine infections, constantly demanding improvement in sanitation standards from the School Education Department.In this backdrop, the Division Bench lamented,“As per the news report, the conditions in Government Schools are shameful. There is not even washrooms or toilets for female students, making it difficult for them to spend even five to six hours in school. This system is a form of oppression against girls. This could be a major reason for many female students dropping out or not attending school at all. Many schools even share a single toilet for both girls and boys, causing daily embarrassment for female students.“Reference was also made to the Union Ministry of Education's U-DISE report for 2024-25 (Ministry Report) which revealed that approximately 5500 schools lacked separate toilets for girls.A rationalization process, which involved the merger of schools, was alleged to have partially resolved the problem by increasing the number of schools with girls' toilets in the State. However, the Ministry Report revealed that there were 48,757 government schools operating in Chhattisgarh, which accommodated 37.64 lakh students, of which 19.54 lakh were female students. Post rationalization, while the number of schools decreased to 38,000, more than 1,000 schools still lacked separate toilets for girls, and schools in Bilaspur, Raipur, Korba, Bastar, and Janjgir-Champa reportedly face the greatest shortage of toilets for girls.The Court also noted that while the PIL was registered as early as January, 2025, the news-report highlighted that there was no satisfactory improvement in the condition of toilets in the schools which made everyday life of the girl students very difficult.Accordingly, the Court listed the matter on 23.03.2026 for further hearing.Case Number: WPPIL No. 17 of 2025Case Title: In the matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation v. State of Chhattisgarh & OthersClick Here To Read/Download Order

'Form Of Oppression': Chhattisgarh High Court Seeks Education Secretary's Personal Affidavit Over Lack Of Girls' Toilets In Govt Schools

Saahas Arora

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