The Supreme Court on Wednesday passed its ultimatum on providing basic infrastructure and amenities like water,toilets and electricity in all schools across the country and directed the Centre and state governments to make available these fundamental facilities within six months for ensuring childrens right to education. A Bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra gave the government the deadline while underlining that the lack of these basic facilities breached childrens fundamental rights to free and compulsory education guaranteed under the Article 21-A of the Constitution. The Bench said all its previous directions pertaining to providing infrastructure should be implemented within the time frame fixed by it. On October 18 last year,the apex court had directed all states and Union territories to build toilets,particularly for girls,in all government schools acting on a PIL by NGO Environmental and Consumer Protection Foundation on this issue. The apex court had earlier stated it was imperative for all schools to provide toilet facilities,as empirical researches indicated if toilet facilities are not provided in schools,parents do not send their children to schools.
