The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the State government to file a report on toilet facilities and sanitary workers in government schools across Tamil Nadu.
The direction was issued by a Division Bench of Justices A.D. Jagadish Chandira and R. Poornima which was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate G. Thirumurugan of Madurai, seeking a direction to authorities to provide basic amenities in Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Othakadai near Madurai.
The petitioner sought a direction to the authorities to assess the actual requirement of sanitary workers, toilets, compound walls, physical education teachers, watchmen, incinerators and water facilities in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, and sanction and fill the posts at the school.
He said the school catered to approximately 3,000 girl students. The student strength had steadily increased over the years. However, it was functioning without adequate permanent sanitary workers required for maintaining hygiene and cleanliness of the campus. The school was dependent on temporarily outsourced sanitation workers for cleaning and maintenance.
The students were affected by the inadequate sanitation facilities. Access to clean and properly maintained toilets was intrinsically connected to menstrual hygiene, privacy, dignity and health of the students. Inadequate maintenance of sanitation facilities often discouraged them from using toilets during school hours, exposing them to various health complications and affecting their concentration and educational performance, he said, adding there was no incinerator on the school campus.
The continued failure to provide sufficient sanitary workers and incinerators in the educational institution effectively compromised the right of the students to study in a healthy and safe environment. There was only one physical education teacher in the school, he said.
The authorities were under a constitutional and statutory obligation to ensure that government schools functioned with adequate infrastructure and manpower. The right to education guaranteed under Article 21 A of the Constitution could not be confined merely to classroom teaching. Meaningful education necessarily included a safe, hygienic and supportive environment that enabled students to learn and develop to their fullest potential, he said.
The court posted the matter for hearing to July 30.
Published - July 09, 2026 08:47 pm IST