- In India’s rural schools, students sometimes don't have access to clean water and reliable power.
- Providing these schools with solar power and water purification systems can help to improve the educational experience for students, as well as spreading long-term health benefits to the rest of the local community.
- To scale these solutions, schools need sustained investment from corporations, increased government support and active participation from local communities.
In a small village school in Rajasthan, India, 12-year-old Priya winces as she sips water from the school's hand pump. The high fluoride content has already mottled her teeth – a visible sign of dental fluorosis. Meanwhile, her classmate Rahul struggles to focus in the dim classroom, as he tries to ignore the stifling heat and poor lighting.
Both children – and many more like them – are being affected by the health and education crisis in rural schools across India. Less than half of the population are using safely managed drinking water, while two-thirds of rural and two-fifths of urban households still face electricity outages every day at least. The absence of reliable electricity and access to safe drinking water in schools in particular threatens millions of children’s futures. But combining solar energy with clean water systems could transform rural education.
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