A recent WHO-UNICEF report identifies that 50 million Indian students currently lack school sanitation, despite a 14% improvement in facilities since 2015. While India is on track to reach universal drinking water targets by 2030, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure require accelerated investment to meet global development standards.
A new assessment by the WHO and UNICEF has highlighted a significant gap in school infrastructure across India. According to the report, 50 million children in India currently lack access to basic school sanitation. This figure represents a substantial portion of the 244 million children globally who do not have such facilities. Despite ranking as the country with the highest number of students without these services, India has shown progress, with a 14% reduction in schools operating without basic sanitation between 2015 and 2025.
Divergent Progress in Water and Sanitation
The report reveals a clear difference in the country's performance regarding drinking water and sanitation. India is currently on a positive path toward achieving universal access to drinking water in schools by 2030, with an annual improvement rate of over 4%. Roughly 12 million children in India currently lack access to functioning and improved water sources. In contrast, hygiene remains a major challenge. Approximately 20 million children attend schools that lack basic handwashing facilities, a situation that poses risks to public health and educational continuity.
Infrastructure and Policy Implications
Meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals set by international bodies will require a significant change in the pace of construction and maintenance of school infrastructure. The data suggests that current rates of progress are insufficient to reach these targets. Achieving universal coverage for hygiene and sanitation in schools would require an aggressive increase in construction rates—specifically, a fivefold increase is needed for sanitation services globally. For India, this underscores the necessity of consistent and higher capital allocation toward social infrastructure.
Stronger infrastructure in schools is not merely a policy goal; it is a fundamental driver for human capital development. When children have access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation, it directly influences attendance rates, long-term health outcomes, and overall productivity within the education system. As the nation works toward its 2030 goals, the focus will likely shift toward maintaining the momentum seen in water infrastructure while simultaneously identifying bottlenecks in sanitation and handwashing facility expansion. The next updates in this space will likely center on budget allocations and the execution speed of infrastructure projects at both state and district levels to bridge these service gaps.