The study, conducted by the Forum for Indian Women Intellect in August, stressed that building toilets alone is not enough and that continuous maintenance must be prioritised.

The survey covered 49 toilets, including 43 under government control and six under private management. Of these, 42 were within Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) limits and seven in rural Dharmapuri district.

By facility type, the study inspected 42 women's toilets, six men's toilets, and one unisex facility.

Findings revealed that only nine government-controlled toilets (22.5%) were reasonably clean and equipped with basic amenities.

Among privately managed facilities, six were classified as reasonably clean, though the report noted that even these fell short of benchmark standards.

Key deficiencies included a lack of basic equipment and disinfectants, absence of sanitation workers, and erratic water supply. Inadequate water was recorded in six facilities, six lacked cleaning staff, and seven lacked cleaning materials.

Broken flooring, damaged doors and latches, poor ventilation, cobwebs, and areas vulnerable to snakes and insects were also reported.

The situation was particularly concerning in several colleges, where poorly maintained toilets surrounded by overgrown vegetation created safety risks for students and staff.

Waterlogging, missing doors, and the presence of venomous insects posed additional hazards, especially for women.

"NAAC guidelines expect one toilet per 25 female students. However, government women's arts colleges themselves neglect or fail to open such infrastructure. Is it fair for NAAC to strictly mandate that private colleges implement these stringent norms when government colleges fail to do so?" asked a private college principal.

In Kodungaiyur, a GCC school reportedly had just one sanitation worker, with toilets cleaned only once daily.