Puducherry ranks first in providing basic facilities in schools

Puducherry ranked first while Uttar Pradesh took the last position in providing infrastructure, including toilet and drinking water facilities in elementary schools, said a report released here Wednesday.

The report was released by the Human Resource Development Ministry as part of the "Flash Statistics 2013-14 for Elementary Education in India".

The national capital took the sixth position.

Lakshwadeep, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka followed Puducherry in the top five ranks that were measured on the basis of availability of schools per 1,000 children and infrastructure in terms of toilet, kitchen shed and drinking water facility.

Other important criteria were the student-teacher ratio, the number of female teachers, average working hours for teachers, enrolment ratio and the drop out rate.

This criteria has been termed the educational development index and takes into account both primary and upper primary level of elementary education.

The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) prepares the flash statistics every year.

The NUEPA for the past two decades has been creating a system of statistics for school education through District Information System for Education, which provides the basis of assessing the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and the status of implementation of right to education.

The flash statistics cover 1.45 million schools spread over 662 districts across 35 states and union territories.