A model of a toilet at Jayapura near Mysuru, which has been set up to create awareness among people.
| Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram
Some government schools in Karnataka are suffering from a lack of basic infrastructure, with a total of 170 schools lacking a toilet. In addition, 61 government schools do not have any drinking water facility, School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa stated in response to a question by Member of Legislative Council (MLC) N. Ravikumar about the basic infrastructure in government schools in the State.
Data on government schools in Karnataka and toilets
| Schools | Enrollment | Schools with toilets | Schools without toilets | No boys toilet | No girls toilet | No CwSN toilet | No compound wall | No drinking water | |
| 46,460 | 40,74,525 | 46,290 | 170 | 2,039 | 701 | 39,478 | 4,755 | 61 |
According to the information provided by the Minister, Karnataka has 46,460 government schools, and a total of 40,74,525 students have been enrolled for the year 2025-26. Out of these, 46,290 schools have a toilet.
No separate toilet for girls
According to the Minister, a total of 701 government schools do not have a separate toilet for girls, and 2,039 government schools do not have a separate toilet for boys, forcing all students to use common toilets.
Government schools in Bengaluru are also not exempt from this problem.
“Ours is a higher primary school, with a total of 307 students studying from classes 1 to 8. Of these, 152 are girls. However, there is no separate toilet for such a large number of girls. There are only 5 toilets in the school, and all the students have to use these. Although a request has been made to the authorities for construction of additional toilets, it is yet to be implemented. A request has been made to a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) recently to build separate toilets for girls and boys, but the project has not been implemented yet,” said the Head Master of a government school at Laggere in Bengaluru.
Schools are not CWSN friendly
Thousands of Children With Special Needs (CwSN) also study in government schools across Karnataka, but the government has failed to build CwSN-friendly toilets. There are no separate toilets for CwSN students in a total of 39,478 government schools in the State.
“The government has a misconception about Person with Disabilities (PwD). There are a total of 21 types of PwD, and basic facilities, including toilets, should be developed in any school, keeping in mind CwSN students. In addition, our teachers are not trained on how to teach CwSN children. Due to this, children are lagging behind in learning. The government should formulate any school project keeping in mind CwSN students,” said Nagasimha Rao, a child rights activist.
Giving information about the development of basic facilities in schools, the Minister said that a total of 9,878 rooms have been repaired and 7,650 toilets have been built in the last three years.
He said that, in 2025-26, a grant of ₹360 crore has been allocated for the construction of class rooms, ₹100 crore for repairs, and ₹90 crore for the construction of toilets, and the action plan approval process is in progress.
Published – December 12, 2025 10:18 am IST
