BANGALORE: The state government has promised to procure cloth for school uniforms from the state-owned Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation and Power Loom Corporation from the next academic year. Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri replied to a query raised by K C Kondaiah of Congress during the Question Hour in the Legislative Council on Friday, “The department is spending over `87 crore annually in providing free uniforms to the students from economically weaker sections.”
The minister while adding that the cloth was procured from the two corporations in the last three years, it had recently procured a consignment of cloth from a Rajasthan-based firm for students of the Mysore division.
This drew criticism from Kondaiah, who remarked: “Such actions will harm the interests of the weaver community.” Kageri, however, clarified that the state government had done so only after the two corporations were unable to source the cloth. He reiterated that this had resulted in the saving of `3 crore, while promising to reverse the decision. “The scheme was introduced to attract more students to attend schools,” the minister said.