56% of Rajasthan government school rooms found unsafe or in ruins: What the state’s massive audit reveals

Additionally, 39,278 toilets are usable, while 16,765 are dilapidated and unusable, and 29,753 require repair work.

The technical audit was preceded by a preliminary audit, which had come up with similar figures for the state. The two audits were conducted following the Jhalawar school tragedy.

On July 25 last year, the roof of a government school in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar caved in, killing seven students and leaving eight injured. The incident prompted the Bhajan Lal Sharma government to order a probe and led to the suspension of five government teachers. Within a few days of this episode, a student died and two others were injured when the main gate of a school collapsed on them in Jaisalmer.

In the aftermath of the Jhalawar incident, Education Minister Madan Dilawar ordered a survey of schools through the district collectors, with instructions that buildings found to be dilapidated should be marked for demolition and alternative arrangements should be made for holding classes.

Additionally, a plan was made to link all dilapidated and repairable buildings with a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based app. The government also set up a cell to check the quality of construction.

The Rajasthan High Court also took suo motu cognisance of the matter and restrained the state government from using dilapidated school buildings and rooms until further orders.

Of the 3,768 schools identified as entirely dilapidated and unusable, district committees have issued orders declaring 2,558 schools as dilapidated. Of these, only 1,129 have been razed so far. Proposals for the construction of new buildings have been received in the case of 2,248 schools, but approvals have been granted in only 123 cases.

Further, of the 45,365 schools requiring major repair work, approval has been granted in only 4,187 cases, the Education Department said, adding that over Rs 174 crore has been sanctioned for repair work. Additionally, district collectors have approved repair work for 20,383 schools under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for school buildings damaged by floods and heavy rainfall.