Now Reading: MP scraps stitched uniform plan, to send cash directly to students
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MP scraps stitched uniform plan, to send cash directly to students
Madhya Pradesh has scrapped the plan to distribute stitched uniforms to government school students and will instead transfer the uniform allowance directly into their bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). School…
Madhya Pradesh has scrapped the plan to distribute stitched uniforms to government school students and will instead transfer the uniform allowance directly into their bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). School education minister Uday Pratap Singh issued the directive during a review meeting on Tuesday, following chief minister Mohan Yadav's instructions.
The decision comes after the Madhya Pradesh High Court imposed an interim stay on a Rs 350 crore tender floated by Madhya Pradesh Textbook Corporation on June 3 for supplying stitched uniforms. The tender, which had been approved by the cabinet in June after replacing the earlier Rs 600 clothing allowance, was cancelled after the court's intervention.
According to UDISE+ 2025-26 data, Madhya Pradesh has 56,62,228 students enrolled in Classes 1 to 8 in government schools. In 2024-25, about 54 lakh students received uniform assistance through the DBT system. The department has begun preparations for implementing the new cycle.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Madhya Pradesh has changed its uniform assistance model six times since 2018, alternating between cash transfers and physical distribution because each method has encountered problems. The High Court stay came after a single-company tender worth about Rs 350 crore for stitched uniforms was challenged, halting procurement under the June cabinet decision. Under the DBT system that returns now, the school education department processed payments to about 54 lakh students in 2024-25. The coming challenge is whether the Rs 600 per-student amount, unchanged since it replaced an earlier clothing allowance, will be adjusted for inflation or remain static when the fresh DBT cycle begins later this year.
Source: freepressjournal.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
