Guwahati: Ranoj Pegu, the education minister for Assam, told the Assembly that more than 3,000 schools in the state lack adequate toilets for boys, and more than 1,600 educational facilities lack such amenities for female students.
He added that there are more than 1,100 schools without access to potable water and more than 1,000 schools without an energy connection.
Additionally, he said that 4,800 educational institutions lack a separation wall and function in a single room, while 2,900 schools are led by a single teacher.
In response to a non-starred query from Congress MLA and Leader of the Opposition Debebrata Saikia, Pegu stated that out of 3,117 schools, 2,747 are elementary level schools and 370 are secondary level schools.
According to the minister, there are just 111 high schools and 1,582 elementary schools without restrooms for girls.
Regarding the inadequacy of sanitation facilities, he cited data from the United District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2021–22.
The minister added that 58 secondary schools and 1,066 primary schools together do not have access to drinking water.
In contrast, each of the 15,161 educational institutions is run by two teachers, and 8,207 of the 2,979 schools he listed have three teachers.
He emphasised that none of these were secondary-level educational institutions; instead, they were all basic schools.
According to Pegu, there are 4,129 secondary and senior secondary institutions in the same category as 2,916 elementary schools, each of which has more than seven teachers.
The number of primary schools without a dividing wall has decreased from 10,472 to 4,799, according to the ministry.
Overall, 1,107 schools—1,097 elementary and 10 secondary institutions—do not have access to electricity, however Pegu claimed attempts are being made to change this by the beginning of the following school year.