Equity in School Water and Sanitation

Overcoming Exclusion and Discrimination in South AsiaIndia Country Report4Findings and AnalysisThis chapter begins with a perusal of enrolmentand attendance in sample schools on the day ofvisit (where available), infrastructure facilities(whether they are functioning), and thearrangements for upkeep, maintenance, andcleaning on a regular basis. The narrative thenmoves to school observations, summarizing whatwas observed with respect to the use of facilities,the participation of students in maintenance andcleanliness, and exploring inclusion, exclusion anddiscrimination, where these were observed. Thisis followed by what students (at primary and upperprimary levels, as well as adolescent girls) saidabout exclusion and inclusion, enrolment and dropouts,and the impact of water and sanitationfacilities on their schooling experience. Thereafter,the perceptions of teachers and theirunderstanding of the linkages between education,water and sanitation, and the perception of parentsand community leaders, are elaborated upon.After presenting the findings, a rigorous analysisis attempted in order to find out about inclusionand exclusion in schools with respect to childrenfrom different social and economic backgrounds,academic performance, illness and disability. Thegender dimension in all of these is also explored.Case studies, voices of stakeholders, and uniquepractices are showcased briefly in this chapter;detailed case studies and narratives are given inAnnex 4.4.1 Enrolment and Attendanceon the Day of VisitThe enrolment record was taken from theheadteacher or principal of each school. It wasfound that the data on attendance was not regularlyupdated in some schools; and even where the datawas available (at different places: teacher's diary,attendance register, scraps of paper), calculationsof the two-month average may not present anaccurate picture. In the senior secondary schoolsthat were visited by the team, daily attendance datawas not being maintained. The records in schoolswere not reliable, as most of the enrolled childrenwere marked present. Discussions with teachersand students revealed that formal attendancerecords do not reflect the real situation and thatthese records are maintained to obtain an extrasupply of rations for MDM, and to ensure that thereis no reduction in the deployed number of teachersand para-teachers. 23 As DISE does not coverschools beyond the elementary stage, accuratedata on enrolment is also not available for these,either at the school or at the block level.In all the 12 sample schools in Mirzapur takentogether, 50.66 per cent of the students in primaryschools and 50.51 per cent of the enrolled studentsat the upper primary and high school levels weregirls. While the distribution of girls and boysappears fairly even, given that many more boysare enrolled in private fee-paying schools, thisperhaps hides the real situation with respect togirls. However, in Lalitpur (12 sample schoolstogether), the percentage of girls enrolled inprimary schools was 42.86, while at upper primaryand high school levels, it was 42.79. Lalitpur hasfewer fee-paying private schools. However, if wesee the percentage of girls present on the day ofvisit (to total students present on that day), thesituation is worrisome.In Mirzapur, only 40 per cent of the students weregirls at the primary level, though the situation at23A different cadre of teachers who are recruited locally either by the Panchayat or by the local administration. They are appointedon yearly contracts and are paid far less than regular government school teachers.15