Students in Nagpur district’s government schools have flagged unequal disbursement of free uniform funds, with PM SHRI scheme schools receiving money for both prescribed uniforms at once, while students in other government schools got funds for only one uniform — and even that fell short of the sanctioned amount.
Under the state scheme, each student is entitled to two free uniforms, with Rs 300 allotted per uniform. However, students under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan received funding for just one uniform, and only Rs 240 of it — Rs 60 short of the sanctioned amount — with no clarity on when funds for the second uniform will arrive. Meanwhile, PM SHRI school students got funds for both uniforms simultaneously, along with money for digital, QR-coded ID cards carrying their name, village, blood group, photo, parents’ names and mobile number.
Nagpur district has 32 PM SHRI schools with 5,726 students, against 1,512 Samagra Shiksha schools serving 68,597 students, for whom Rs 1.64 crore was released at Rs 240 per uniform.
Former Zilla Parishad deputy chairperson Kunda Raut said discrimination in funding to opposition-run bodies is not new, but students, at least, should be treated equally.
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