As CJP turns up heat, audit reveals 611 Rajasthan schools lack buildings

The Rajasthan government told the Assembly that 611 government schools are operating without their own buildings. The disclosure intensified scrutiny of school infrastructure as the opposition cited unsafe campuses and the state announced repair and construction funds.

In Short

• Major infrastructure gaps at 38 top schools, Aklera tops the list
• Students in Bagru were shifted after their original building was deemed unsafe
• Across built campuses, 2,047 schools lack toilets and 1,049 lack water

As many as 611 government schools in Rajasthan are functioning without their own buildings, the state government informed the Legislative Assembly on Friday, highlighting gaps in school infrastructure across the state.

The BJP government attributed the infrastructure gaps to the previous Congress-led Ashok Gehlot government.

Referring to an audit conducted after the Jhalawar school accident, the BJP said the report had exposed the poor condition of government schools and described it as the “sin” of the Gehlot government that the current administration was trying to fix.

The disclosure came in response to a question from Leader of Opposition (LoP) Tika Ram Jully. According to Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data for 2025-26 under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, 611 government schools in the state do not have buildings, including 10 girls' schools.

The figures come days after a team of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), led by its co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka, was attacked while travelling to inspect a government school in Bagru near Jaipur.

SCHOOL ALLEGEDLY OPERATING FROM COWSHED

One of the reasons for the CJP team's visit was to examine claims that the school was functioning from a cowshed. The school's original building was declared unsafe last year and closed, following which students were shifted to a temporary enclosure.

The issue is part of a broader infrastructure problem across Rajasthan. Jaipur alone has 38 schools without buildings, while Jhalawar's Aklera block has the highest number at 23, followed by Khanpur with 16 and Jhalrapatan with 11. Bap in Phalodi and Chotisarvan in Banswara have 11 and 10 such schools, respectively.

Of the 64,484 government schools that have their own buildings, 2,047 do not have toilet facilities and 1,049 lack drinking water.

Banswara has the highest number of schools without toilets at 188, followed by Dungarpur with 124 and Udaipur with 98. Dausa has the highest number of schools without drinking water facilities at 96.

GOVT ANNOUNCES REPAIR, CONSTRUCTION FUNDS

The Rajasthan government said it has allocated 550 crore for repair and renovation of schools and 450 crore for constructing buildings for schools without buildings or those operating from dilapidated structures.

It also said 2,500 crore annually, or 12,500 crore over five years, would be available for construction, repair and maintenance of school buildings through various funding sources.

LoP QUESTIONS GOVT'S PREPAREDNESS

However, Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully rejected the government's position and cited the same audit to question its preparedness to address the infrastructure crisis.

He said 3,768 government schools had been declared completely dilapidated and unsafe, while 83,783 schoolrooms were also unsafe for use.

“They don't have a plan,” Jully said, claiming that schools had been closed or shifted because of their poor condition, affecting enrolment.

He also said the Rajasthan High Court had pulled up the government over the condition of schools. The government, meanwhile, maintained that improving school buildings, toilets and other basic facilities remained a priority.

- Ends
With inputs from Sharath Kumar