ABSTRACT The study aims to explore the current scenario of toilet facilities in ‘Grameen primary schools’ in tribal West Bengal. Further, it involves itself in identifying the factors responsible for the school authorities' decision to participate in the ‘Swachh Vidyalaya-Grameen’ programme. The study explores the aforementioned objective based on field survey data from 900 tribal students from 50 ‘Grameen primary schools’ in Paschim Midnapore, Purba Midnapore, Jhargram, and Jalpaiguri. The probit regression model is used to determine the decisive factors for participation in the ‘Swachh Vidyalaya-Grameen’ programme. The study reveals that the number of students and teachers significantly influences schools’ participation in ‘Swachh Vidyalaya-Grameen.’ The findings conclude that the best-performing district is Paschim Medinipur. The findings demonstrate a significant positive correlation between the ‘Swachh Vidyalaya-Grameen’ programme and improved health, hygiene, and sanitation facilities in ‘Grameen primary schools’ of tribal West Bengal. The study concludes that there is an urgent need to appoint teachers in regular posts to improve the sanitation status of the ‘Grameen primary schools’ in tribal West Bengal. Furthermore, a more informed school authority is necessary for an overall improved sanitation scenario in schools. The study also highlights future study directions.
Shrabanti Maity (Tue,) studied this question.