Assam: 40 lakh government school students await uniforms

GUWAHATI: While the Assam government is thinking of distributing free khadi uniforms among school children, government run schools are yet to receive the bulk of the regular uniforms meant for about 40 lakh students of classes I to VIII. "It's unfortunate that government schools are not getting free uniforms since 2015. We don't know what's gone wrong with the files or where they are stuck. When we approached the state government, they said the Centre was to blame for the lapse," said president of the Assam State Primary Teachers' Association, Jiban Chandra Borah.

On Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 this year, state education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that free khadi garments would be given to government employees on Rongali Bihu. He had also mentioned that the government was considering giving free uniforms to school children also. "Instead of giving free khadi garments to government teachers, they should allot school uniforms at the earliest," added Borah. Sources in the state government said the funds provided by the Centre are going into salaries of teachers, training and other areas leaving very little for the distribution of free uniforms for students. Annually, about Rs 170 crore is needed to give uniforms to about 40 lakh students at the elementary level (classes I to VIII).

Since the government is unable to provide the uniforms, parents are being forced to buy them. Some are even wearing old, worn out ones that were stitched two-three years ago. For the underprivileged children, the uniforms are in such bad shape that they have started coming to school in their regular dresses.