India tops the world: 50 million Indian children lack school sanitation

A toilet might be there. But the school still doesn't have sanitation. This is the nuance in the definition that led to a startling figure in the WHO-UNICEF joint assessment of school sanitation. As many as 50 million children in India were estimated to be without sanitation services at their schools in 2025, the largest such population in the world.

The report shows that 460 million children globally are without a basic sanitation service, 244 million of them in schools that don't have sanitation, and 216 million in schools with some form of improved sanitation facilities which are either not functional or not segregated.

What is basic sanitation?

Based on JMP's criteria, a school has a basic sanitation service if it has an improved sanitation facility that is single-sex and usable at the time of the survey.

If a school has an improved sanitation facility, but this is not usable or not properly segregated, it is classed as having a limited sanitation service. If a school has an unimproved sanitation facility or no facility at all, it is classed as having no sanitation service.

So, how accurate is that headline figure of 50 million?

It means that 50 million children in India were attending schools without an improved sanitation facility in 2025. That doesn't mean that there were no toilets at all. It means that the sanitation facilities were not improved. There is a big difference between having a toilet and having a sanitation facility.

India has achieved a lot in the last decade, and so has the world. As per JMP, globally, the percentage of schools with basic sanitation rose between 67% in 2015 to 77% in 2025.

The percentage of schools with no sanitation service was nearly halved during the same period, from 23% to 12%. India too has made improvements, with a rise in the availability of sanitation facilities, including through the government's Swachch Bharat mission. But, India's sanitation coverage still trails behind. Even as India celebrated the increase in sanitation facilities, the focus needs to shift to this key difference between a toilet and a sanitation facility.

A sanitation facility at a school is more than just a toilet. It requires several aspects to come together for it to be deemed as improved. For instance, it has to be single-sex and usable at the time of the survey.

While the availability of a sanitation facility is important, its use by students is integral. If the facility is not functioning or not properly segregated, it defeats the whole purpose of having one. Water and hygiene. Sanitation is just one component of the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) cluster. As per the WHO and UNICEF report, 429 million children in the world lack a basic drinking-water service.

Of those 429 million, 171 million were in schools where an improved drinking-water source was not available at the time of the survey, while 258 million were in schools with no drinking-water service.

As per the country-specific figures, India had about 12 million children who lacked a basic school-level drinking-water service.

In terms of hygiene, we know that there are 545 million children worldwide who lack a basic hygiene service. A basic hygiene service is defined by the availability of a handwashing facility with soap and water.

However, the report says that the JMP does not have sufficient recent data to produce an estimate for Central and Southern Asia, which includes India.

It is important to interpret the data on India carefully since the figures are not entirely representative of the state of hygiene services in the country.

Sanitation in schools isn't just a matter of cleanliness. It goes beyond to impact a child's dignity and right to education

UNICEF and WHO have said that adequate WASH services are critical to achieving healthy and equitable societies. Separate sanitation facilities are especially important for girls, as emphasized by the WHO. Better sanitation facilities can promote school attendance with separate sanitary bins especially for girls.

For the student, it boils down to having a toilet that is usable. It makes a huge difference whether they have a choice or not.

So, instead of focussing on the number of toilets, the focus should be on how many of these are functional and accessible to girls.

The difference between a toilet and a sanitation facility with coverage, functionality and segregation is the real challenge.

The figure of 50 million in India is significant because it highlights an issue. But it should provoke more discussion on what the real numbers are in terms of improved sanitation facilities.

The lack of sanitation facilities at schools is a matter of concern for girls, who have lesser options than boys. The availability of a basic sanitation facility helps them to continue to get an education. Education is the best way to break the chains of poverty. But that is not possible if children, especially girls, cannot access sanitation facilities.

Not only is the situation grim in India, but it also faces the challenge of achieving the global target of 2030. While the global coverage of basic sanitation in schools is projected to be 77% in 2025, it is likely to increase only to 81% by 2030 if the current trends continue. This would leave 364 million children without basic sanitation services by 2030.

In order to achieve universal coverage by 2030, five times the current rate of progress in basic school sanitation would be needed. So, the figure of 50 million in India is only one aspect of the problem, one that is bigger than counting toilets. It is time to think about how many of these toilets are functional and accessible to everyone, especially girls.