HYDERABAD: Students in government schools in the state are complaining about poor quality school uniforms being supplied to them. Drop in at a government school and you’ll find some kids wearing shirts above their waist, while others have a problem holding their pants up, saying they are “free size.” A few are not wearing their uniforms at all, and have got them stitched after buying cloth from outside. On Thursday, this correspondent visited the Government High School ‘Aliya’ at Gunfoundry and found the students wearing uniforms that looked shoddy and improperly stitched. It was a similar scene at the Government Primary School at Falaknuma and the Government Primary School Anandbagh at Mailardevpally.
A school teacher, on condition of anonymity, said that all students did not even receive their uniforms, as result, some of them wear regular outdoor clothes to school. As many as 20, 87,715 students are studying in 26,015 government schools across the state. The Department of School Education has allocated '70 crore for the project. Mr Sarotam Reddy, president, Progressive Recognised Teachers’ Union, said that there are several discrepancies in the uniforms. “The cloth supplied for uniforms is of poor quality. Then the contract of stitching is given to certain tailors who accordingly stitch and supply it,” he said.
According to the rules, the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan authorities place orders for supply of school uniform cloth to Telangana State Handloom Weavers Society (TSHWS). After the cloth is supplied, the mandal education officer, deputy inspector of schools and deputy district education officer collects it. “The material is stored in some school building and the contract is handed over to a tailor selected by them though they are not authorised to do so,” said a headmaster. As per the rule, the school management committee has to call for tenders and hand over the contract.
