With two months left, students in government hostels yet to get uniform

The government had sanctioned a grant of ₹ 9.97 crore to the Social Welfare Department and issued a work order on July 31 last year for uniforms to pre-metric hostel students.

With only two months left for the completion of the 2024-25 academic year, the Social Welfare Department is yet to provide two pairs of stitched uniforms, shoes, and socks to about 1.03 lakh students studying in government residential schools and pre-matric hostels across the State.

The government had sanctioned a grant of ₹9.97 crore to the Social Welfare Department and issued a work order on July 31, 2024, for uniforms to pre-metric hostel students. A grant of ₹3.49 crore was sanctioned for shoes and socks and the work order was issued on October 21, 2024. However, the department has not distributed uniforms or shoes and socks to the students so far.

Who is eligible

Every year, boys in these hostels from classes 5 to 7 are provided with half pants and half shirts, and boys from classes 8 to 10 are given full pants and half shirts. Girls from classes 5 to 7 are provided with skirts and blouses, and girls from classes 8 to 10 are provided with one pair of skirt-and-blouse and another pair of churidar.

For the year 2024-25, the Commissioner of the Social Welfare Department had submitted a proposal to the government for uniforms, with an estimated enrolment of 1,03,591 students in government residential schools and pre-matric hostels In addition, it was estimated that about 96,242 students would be enrolled in the government pre-matric hostels under the department.

Full grant given

The government, after examining these proposals, sanctioned full grant for the purchase of uniforms and shoes and socks. And issued work orders to purchase uniforms from the Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation Ltd., (KHDCL) and for shoes and socks from Lidkar. However, despite the lapse of several months since the government issued the work orders, the department has not yet distributed uniforms, shoes and socks.

“If these are given to students at the fag end of the academic year, it is hardly any use to the students. The department should immediately take action to distribute uniforms, shoes and socks to the hostel students. We have submitted a petition to the department in this regard,” said Venugopal Maurya, President, Democratic Dalit Students’ Federation, Bengaluru.

‘Will be distributed soon’

Speaking to The Hindu, Rakesh Kumar K., Commissioner, Social Welfare Department, said that the department has obtained exemption from section 4 (G) of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act, 1999, (KTPP Act) and work orders had been issued to Lidkar and KHDCL. “We have given a notice to KHDCL for the delay in supplying uniforms. The uniforms, shoes, and socks have already been dispatched and they will be distributed to the students shortly,” he said.