PATNA, Feb. 25 -- Bihar education minister Sunil Kumar on Tuesday assured the state Assembly that the government would install sanitary pad vending machines in all middle and high schools across the state in the next fiscal year. Replying to a short notice question by Komal Singh of the ruling Janata Dal (United), the minister said that the government had already sanctioned Rs.40 crore for the initiative. The JD(U) MLA had raised concerns about the slow pace of implementation, noting that out of 76,320 schools in the state, 43,960 are middle and high schools, but vending machines and incinerators had been installed in only 419 schools, which amounts to just 0.95% of the total. "This is a very small number,"Singh said. In response, the minister stated that financial bids for the contract would be finalised after 25 February, and the government expected to cover most of the identified schools with sanitary vending machines and incinerators within the next two months. Any remaining schools would be covered in a subsequent phase, he added. On a separate issue, RJD MLA Ajay Kumar asked whether the government planned to include disaster management subjects in college and university curricula. Minister Sunil Kumar said the state would instruct universities to introduce the subjects....