SCHOOL BUILDINGS
IN all the Five Year Plans great emphasis has been aid upon the quantitative expansion in education at all levels which has resulted in a considerable increase in enrolment and consequent opening of a large number of new schools throughout the country. But the increase in school buildings and other facilities has not kept pace with the increase in enrolment. A large number of schools are run either in thatched huts, in kachha buildings, in tents or even in open space, inspite of the norms laid by school authorities regarding school buildings.
In this as well as earlier three surveys, the data on school buildings have been collected to enable the planners to tackle this problem. The scope of first two surveys (conducted in 1957 and 1965) was limited to an enquiry about the condition of school buildings and the number of rooms with the floor area. In the Third Survey, the scope was considerably extended and information was sought on the following aspects of school buildings (i) Condition of the school building and ownership (ii) Area available for instructional and non-instructional purposes ; (iii) Shortage of rooms and expansion potential ; (iv) Space for farming agriculture (v) Playground facility ; and (vi) Hostel facilities and number of inmates.
In the Fourth Survey information has been collected on the following aspects of school building:
1. Condition of school buildings;
2. Ownership of school buildings;
3. Shortage of accommodation and expansion potential ;
4. Availability of drinking water; and
5. Urinal and lavatory facilities.
9.1 Condition of School Buildings The type of school building in which a school is functioning has been categorised either as pukka, partly pukka, kachha, thatched hut, tent or open space. A school has been classified into a particular category according to the type of accommodation in which majority of its classes are running.
9.1.1 Primary schools There are 4,74,636 primary schools of which only 2,22,861 (46.96%) are functioning in pukka buildings and 61,418 (12.94%) in partly pukka buildings. Of the remaining, 1,90,357 (40.10%) schools, 1,01,352 are run in kachha buildings, 47,719 in thatched huts, 556 in tents and 40,730 in open space. The schools running in pukka buildings have decreased both in absolute number and in proportion compared to the Third Survey when their number was 2,39,921 (52.65%). This decrease can most probably be attributed to the upgrading of many existing schools running in pukka buildings and starting of new schools in other than pukka buildings.
Management-wise distribution shows that while out of 4,46,096 (93.99%) schools which are managed by the government or local bodies, 2,05,255 (46.01%) have pukka buildings and out of 28,540 (6.01%) schools managed by private bodies, 17,606 (61.69%) have pukka buildings.
Among the states Gujarat (74.02%), Haryana (87.20%), Karnataka (72.26%), Kerala (77.51%), Tamil Nadu (70.18%) and Uttar Pradesh (70.64%) have pukka buildings in more than 70% of schools while the states of Assam (6.86%), Bihar (23.67%), Himachal Pradesh (12.21%), Jammu and Kashmir (22.83%), Manipur (1.45%), Meghalaya (7.97%), Nagaland (1.23%), Orissa (23.17%), Tripura (3.30%) and West Bengal (20.12%), have pukka school buildings for less than 25% of schools.
146 FOURTH ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
STATEMENT 9.1
Primary schools according to type of building
Type of building
Area Open space Tents Thatched Kachha Partly Pukka Total
huts building pukka building
building
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Rural 39606 360 46457 97744 55291 192144 431602
(9.18) (0.08) (10.76) (22.65) (12.81) (44.52) (100.00)
Urban 1124 196 1262 3608 6127 30717 43034
(2.61) (0.46) (2.93) (8.38) (14.24) (71.38) (100.00)
Total 40730 556 47719 101352 61418 222861 474636
(8.58) (0.12) (10.05) (21.3)5 (12.94) (46.96) (100.00)
Note : Figures within parentheses indicate percentages.
STATEMENT 9.2
Middle schools according to type of building
Type of building
Area Open space Tents Thatched Kuchha Partly Pukka Total
huts building pukka building
building
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Rural 1757 22 2025 11062 15969 63345 94180
(1.87) (0.02) (2.15) (11.75) (16.96) (67.25) (100.00)
Urban 53 44 202 769 2030 15126 18224
(0.29) (0.24) (1.11) (4.22) (11.14) (83.00) (100.00)
Total 1810 66 2227 11831 17999 78471 112404
(1.61) (0.06) (1.98) (10.53) (16.01) (69.41) (100.00)
Note : Figures within parentheses indicate percentages.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS 147
Among the Union Territories, Chandigarh (79.48%), and Goa, Daman and Diu (84.64%) have pukka buildings for more than 70% of schools while Arunachal Pradesh (8.16%) and Mizoram (0.38%) have such buildings for less than 10% of schools.
Of the 4,31,632 schools in rural areas which is 90.93% of total schools in the country, it is observed that 1,92,144 (44.52%) schools have pukka buildings, 39,606 (9.18%) schools are running in open space and 360 (0.08%) in tents.
Out of 43,034 schools in urban areas, 30,717 (71.38%) are in pukka buildings, which shows the position is much better in urban areas about school buildings as compared to rural areas. But in urban areas also 1,124 (2.61%) schools are functioning in open space and 196 (0.46%) schools in tents.
9.1.2 Middle schools There are 1,12,404 schools at this stage of which 78,471 (69.41 %) are run in pukka buildings. This shows a rise in number of schools running in pukka buildings over the Third Survey in which 55,257 (60.94%) of middle schools were found to be functioning in pukka buildings.
Unlike primary schools there are only 1,810 (1.61%) middle schools functioning in open space. Here also, as in case of primary schools majority of the schools i.e. 88,164 (78.43%) are managed by government or local bodies. A comparison of schools under various managements reveals that 63,886 (72.46%) of schools under government or local bodies have pukka buildings as against 14,585 (60.17%) of schools under private bodies having pukka buildings. This is in con- trast to the situation in primary schools where proportionately privately managed schools have more pukka buildings as compared to schools managed by government bodies.
States-wise comparison reveals that ten States viz. Gujarat (94.36%), Haryana (93.10%), Karnataka (85.06%), Kerala (81.44%), Madhya Pradesh (75.38%) Maharashtra (80.85%), Punjab (70.43%), Rajasthan (86.09%), Sikkim (100.00%) and Tamil Nadu (74.45%) have pukka buildings for more than 70% of schools. On the other extreme are Assam (13.47%), Himachal Pradesh (19.16%), Manipur (2.91%), Meghalaya (27.80%), Nagaland (17.87%) and Tripura (9.58%) which have pukka buildings in less than 30% of schools.
Among the Union Territories, A & N Islands (85.71%) Chandigarh (77.27%), Goa, Daman & Diu (83.94%), Lakshadweep (80.00%) and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (100%) have pukka buildings in over (75%) schools. On the other extreme is Mizoram where only 0.81% of middle schools have pukka buildings.
Out of 94,180 (83.79%) middle schools which are in rural areas, 63,345 (67.26%) have pukka buildings and 15,696 (16.96%) have partly pukka buildings. There are 1,757 (1.87%) schools which are function- ing in open space and 22 (0.02%) schools in tents.
In urban areas the position of middle schools having pukka buildings is quite comfortable as 15,126 i.e. 83% of the schools are in pukka buildings. But here also a few schools (0.29%) function in open space and 0.24% of the schools are run in tents.
9.1.3 Secondary schools There are 36,675 secondary schools of which 26,507 (72.27%) are in rural areas and 10,169 (27.73%) in urban areas. At this stage 61.46% schools are managed by private bodies as against 38.54% managed by government or local bodies. At this stage, 27,196 (74.15%) schools are functioning in pukka buildings while 6,441 (17.56%) schools are run in partly pukka buildings which together account for 91.71% of the schools.
Among the rest, 221 (0.60%) schools are functioning in open space and another 25 (0.07%) in tents. it is observed that there is an increase in the number of schools functioning in open space over the Third Survey in which only 29 (0.09%) were reported to be functioning in open space.
Statewise comparison reveals that all the States except for Assam (28.94%), Himachal Pradesh (34.98%), Manipur (14.34%), Meghalaya (44.17%), Nagaland (55.68%) Orissa (54.17%) and Tripura (33.69%) have pukka school buildings for more than 60% of schools while Sikkim has pukka buildings for all the schools. Among the Union Territories, all except Arunachal Pradesh (52.00%) and Mizoram (0.87%) have pukka buildings for more than 70% of schools while Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep have pukka buildings for all their schools.
There are 26,506 secondary schools in rural areas of which 18,343 (69.20%) are in pukka buildings and 5,419 (20.44%) in partly pukka buildings which together account for 89.64% of the schools. But there has been a considerable increase in the number of schools running in open space from 20 (0.09%) in the Third Survey to 191 (0.72%) in the present survey.
There are 10,169 schools in urban areas of which 8,852 (87.05%) are in pukka buildings and 1,022
148 FOURTH ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
STATEMENT 9.3
Secondary schools according to type of buildings
Type of building
Area Open space Tents Thatched Kachha Partly Pukka Total
huts building pukka building
building
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Rural 191 4 394 2155 5419 18343 26506
(0.72) (0.02) (1.49) (8.13) (20.44) (69.20) (100.00)
Urban 30 21 48 196 1022 8852 10169
(0.30) (0.21) (0.47) (1.93) (10.05) (87.05) (100.00)
Total 221 25 442 2351 6441 27195 36675
(0.60) (0.07) (1.21) (6.41) (17.56) (74.15) (100.00)
Note: Figures within parentheses indicate percentages.
(10.05%) in partly pukka buildings. There are 30 (0.29%) schools functioning in open space and another 21 (0.21%) schools in tents.
9.1.4 Higher secondary schools There are 10,429 higher secondary schools. At this stage majority of the schools, that is, 5,844 (56.04%) are in urban areas. Out of 10,429 schools, 9,559 (91.66%) are functioning in pukka buildings while 732 (7.02%) are run in partly pukka buildings. The two together account for 98.68% of schools. There are 22 (0.21%) schools functioning in open space, of which only two are in rural areas. The remaining twenty are in urban areas.
A comparison of schools under various managements reveals that 3,791 (88,04%) schools under government or local bodies have pukka buildings as against 5,768 (94.20%) schools under private managements having pukka buildings. Statewise comparison shows that except for Assam (66.96%), Himachal Pradesh (54.54%) Manipur (26.66%), Nagaland (66.66%), Orissa (69.23%), all other states have pukka buildings for more than 70% of schools and Bihar, Kerala and Sikkim having pukka buildings for all the schools. Among the Union Territories except A & N Islands (50.00%), all others have pukka buildings for more than 80% of schools and Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep have pukka. buildings for all the schools.
There are 4,585 schools in rural areas of which 4,036 (88.03%) are in pukka buildings and another 463 (10.10%) run in partly pukka, buildings. There are only two schools functioning in open space as against seven such schools at the time of the Third Survey. There are 5,844 urban schools of which 5,523 (94.51%) are in pukka buildings and 269 (4.60%) in partly pukka. buildings. However, there are still 20 schools which are functioning in open space and another seven in tents.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS 149
STATEMENT 9.4
Higher secondary schools according to type of buildings
Type of building
Area Open space Tents Thatched Kachha Partly Pukka Total
huts building pukka building
building
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Rural 2 2 6 76 463 4036 4585
(0.04) (0.04) (0.13) (1.66) (10.10) (88.03) (100.00)
Urban 20 7 6 19 269 5523 5844
(0.34) (0.12) (0.10) (0.33) (4.60) (94.51) (100.00)
Total 22 9 12 95 732 9559 10429
(0.21) (0.09) (0.12) (0.91) (7.02) (91.66) (100.00)
Note: Figures within parentheses indicate percentages.
9.2 Ownership of school buildings A large number of schools, apart from those managed by the government or local bodies, are managed by trusts, philanthrophic institutions and individuals. These bodies provide space or buildings for running the schools. Sometimes buildings are provided on an ad- hoc basis while a suitable school building is under construction or is proposed to be constructed in future. Usually such buildings are not suitable for running a school. Also there is a wide variation in respect of ownership of buildings. The building could either be owned by the school or the school may be paying rent for it. Also sometimes it is rent free building. In the following paragraphs, the position of school buildings is discussed with regard to ownership.
9.2.1 Primary schools At this stage 4,38,789 (92.44%) schools have buildings, of which 3,27,659 (74.67%) schools own their buildings 31,948 (7.28%) are in rented buildings, and 79,182 (18.05%) are in rent free accommodation. It is observed that schools owning their buildings have gone up from 3,11,758 (68.42%) to 3,27,659 (74.67%) since the Third Survey.
Management-wise distribution reveals that at this stage 75.63% of schools managed by the government or local bodies owned their buildings as compared to 69.35% schools managed by private bodies. Also more schools managed by private bodies (22.03%) have rented buildings as compared to schools under the government or local bodies (6.28%). This may be due to the provision in grant-in-aid rules where the privately managed institutions are entitled for subsidised rent. It is also observed that more of the government or local bodies schools are having rent free buildings (18.09%) as compared to schools managed by private bodies (8.62%).
Among the States all except Andhra Pradesh (39.50%), Haryana (37.28%), Jammu & Kashmir (25.69%), Maharashtra (55.30%) and Punjab (35.98%) have school buildings owned by the schools in more than 60% cases. In Assam (99.59%), Meghalaya (93.03%) , Orissa (95.15%), Sikkim (97.98%), Tripura (96.13%), and West Bengal (92.91%) more than 90% schools own their school buildings.
Among the Union Territories, except Dadra & Nagar Haveli (44.02%) in all other Union Territories more than 60% schools own their buildings while in Arunachal Pradesh (99.72%), Lakshadweep (94.11%)
150 FOURTH ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
STATEMENT 9.5
Primary schools according to ownership of school buildings
Ownership of building
Area Owned Rented Rent free Total
1 2 3 4 5
Rural 304197 18333 74216 396746
(76.67) (4.62) (18.61) (100.00)
Urban 23462 13615 4966 42043
(55.80) (32.38) (11.82) (100.00)
Total 327659 31948 79182 438789
(74.67) (7.28) (18.05) (100.00)