The financial support forthcoming to the Swachh Vidyalaya (Clean Schools) campaign shows that the Prime Minister’s ambitious programme to ensure the provision of toilets in all government schools by August 15, 2015 has much-needed backing and administrative goodwill. But before that, it must surmount the hurdles. One, the mindset of children who are accustomed to making use of open space needs to be retrained. Two, arrangements to clean toilets and maintain them need to be planned. Although the practice of each one cleaning and maintaining one’s toilet is Gandhian in spirit, the negative response of the local community vis-à-vis school toilets needs to be factored in. Many schools have no running water facility. It is no exaggeration to say that unclean facilities with their unbearable stench is what keeps potential users away. One wishes that the Swachh Vidyalaya campaign takes all these factors into consideration. Enlisting the participation of local panchayats and Parent-Teacher Associations can ensure better results.
C. John Rose,Arumanai, Tamil Nadu
