BENGALURU: Students studying in state government schools will not get a second set of uniforms for the coming academic year. The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) has decided not to provide a second set due to shortage of funds.
All these years students used to get two sets of uniforms, one from State Department of Public Instruction and second one from the SSA. Now, due to fund crunch, the SSA has decided not to provide a second set and students will have to manage with only one.
SSA sources said Centre has only released 34% of total funds allocated to the state to run schemes under SSA. Considering this shortage, the officials at SSA have taken a decision to lower the supply of uniforms
for the next academic year.
Funds allocated from the Centre under SSA was Rs 1,700 crore for 2018-19, of which it has only received Rs 577 crore. “Even of this Rs 577 crore, what we got only Rs 370 crore in the first phase. We need Rs 328 crore just to pay the salaries of SSA and Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan teachers,” said a senior official of SSA.
Following the fund crunch, SSA officials have written a letter to the state government requesting additional funds apart from the committed share. “Of the funds allocated to SSA, 60% comes from Centre and 40% from the state. This time we have requested the state to release additional funds in order to continue programmes,” explained the official. However, they have not received any communication from the government about their request.
According to the details available, SSA spends Rs 200 per student to provide uniforms, and the total budget needed to supply uniforms is Rs 80 crore. Centre used to provide funds to supply uniforms for girls and students belonging to SC/ST and BPL families from class 1 to 8.