Sardarpur (Madhya Pradesh): As many as 17,000 school children in Sardarpur Tehsil of Dhar district have been deprived of uniforms.
The pandemic has destroyed many lives and livelihoods, but its most enduring costs will lie in the life chances of the young.
For most of the past year, schools and universities have been physically closed to many.
The state government initiated Mohalla classes and online classes to maintain the academic schedule.
The academic session without students began in April. The teachers and principals of government schools were supposed to distribute uniforms. They did not do that.
A few officials of the education department admitted of the delay in distribution of uniforms to the children.
They said that the teachers had anticipated that students would get the new uniform by the Independence Day.
Nevertheless, the chances of their getting the uniforms are bleak.
According to sources in the district education department, there are 360 primary schools and 95 middle schools in Sardarpur Tehsil.
Around 35,000 children are studying there in the current academic session of 2020-21.
According to the norms, each student should get a pair of uniforms. It means over 70,000 uniforms were to be distributed among those students.
Every year, the administration distributes new uniforms before August 15.
But the previous year, citing the corona pandemic, the government forgot to distribute uniforms
Only 36,356 uniforms have been given till now. This shows that around 34,000 uniforms are still to be given.
Last year, the Kamal Nath government, in its regime, had ordered to transfer the price of uniforms directly to the account of the parents so that the parents can purchase good quality uniforms for their kids from shops. But this time the BJP-led government again has entrusted the responsibility of uniforms to the self-help groups (SHGs) in the villages.
The quality of the uniform is expected to be questioned again as before. Notably, the government is paying Rs 600 to each student for a pair of uniforms. But the students are sorry for not being able to get the quality uniform of their choice.
Many of the school teachers and the parents complained that the uniform which was prepared by the self-help group (SHG) of Rural Livelihood Project for the students is not up to the mark even after spending double its price. Uniforms that were provided to the students is not fit in proportion to the class-wise physical parameters of the students as members SHG hardly bother to visit to take their measurements. Due to which this the uniform which was given to students is not fitted up to the mark. Even after being unsatisfied with the quality, teachers and the parents are afraid to speak against the government fearing it could put them in trouble.
When contacted Block Development Education Officer and Block Resource Coordinator Pramod Kumar Mathur said that the amount for the uniform comes from the District Project Coordinator's office. I do not know how much amount has been sanctioned for uniforms in Sardarpur Tehsil. Mathur added that so far school students from five Sankuls out of a total of 13 in Sardarpur Tehsil have got uniform and the rest will get soon. Mathur told that the manager in charge of the rural livelihood projects could be able to provide more information in this regard.
When contacted manager in charge of rural livelihood project Narendra Singh Vaskale said that more than 50 per cent work has been completed and the remaining half of the work will be completed soon. On delay in distribution of uniforms for a year, he said that the work could not be done due to the lockdown in the corona epidemic.
