metro india news  I hyderabad

Across Telangana, thousands of government schools continue to function without even the most basic facilities, leaving students to study in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. Toilets, drinking water, electricity, playgrounds, and kitchen sheds — the essentials that define a proper school — are missing in large numbers.

According to a recent report by the School Education Department, of the 24,244 govt schools in the state, as many as 8,045 have no kitchen sheds, forcing mid-day meals to be cooked outdoors or under trees. Another 4,660 schools have no playgrounds, denying children the chance to play and participate in sports despite the government’s push for physical education at the school level. Sanitation is another area of concern, with 4,286 schools lacking toilets for boys and 1,658 having none for girls. The absence of basic hygiene facilities has become one of the main reasons for absenteeism among adolescent girls.

Safety concerns are equally alarming. Many schools do not have boundary walls, leaving campuses exposed to snakes, stray animals, and encroachments. The lack of proper enclosures has even led to snakebite incidents in some hostels. Additionally, 500 schools have been found without electricity or drinking water — 424 without power and 76 without clean water supply.

Due to these poor conditions, parents are increasingly sending their children to private institutions despite higher fees. While over 24,000 government schools educate about 18 lakh students, private schools with better infrastructure now attract nearly 35 lakh. This steady shift signals a deep crisis in public education that demands urgent government action to rebuild trust and ensure a safe, dignified learning environment for every child.