Ludhiana: School heads told to provide new uniforms to students of Classes 1 to 8 by October 26

Punjab Director-General School Education, Mohammad Tayyab on Wednesday directed principals of various government schools to provide new school uniforms to students of Classes 1 to 8 by October 26.

The funds of ₹7.42 crore have been released to the district and the same has been transferred in the accounts of block primary education officers (BPEO) which will be further sent to the bank accounts of schools to purchase new uniforms.

The heads have been asked to inform parents to provide the measurements of their wards.

Each school will get ₹600 per student to purchase a uniform that includes a pair of shoes, socks, a belt, tie, shirt, trousers, skirt, sweater, and turban. The masks are to be made from the leftover fabric of the uniforms. Around 1.23 lakh students, of which 78,632 are girls, 39,792 are boys belonging to scheduled caste (SC) and 5,351 students belong to below poverty line (BPL) category, will get free uniforms.

The school heads have stated that after receiving funds from the BPEOs they will place the order of uniforms and parents have been informed to provide the measurements of their ward. Previously, the school authorities received funds after November and within a month, they have to provide uniforms to students. But this year, funds have been released in September due to which the uniforms will be provided to students in time.

Headteacher of Government Primary School, Haibowal Kalan, Shivani Sood said, “With the number of rising Covid-19 cases in the district, it is important to take precautionary measures and that’s why we are not asking parents to visit the school. Once the uniform is ready, all the items will be sent at the kids’ doorstep. In our school, there are 873 students studying in Class 1 to 5.”

In the Government Model Senior Secondary Smart School, Punjab Agricultural University, there are over 1,200 students studying in Classes 1 to 8. The school authorities have decided to float tenders and will place the order at the earliest. School principal, Sanjeev Thapar, said, “We have received the funds and tenders will be floated so that we can get the new uniforms stitched for the students. Parents will be asked to inform the class teacher regarding the measurement and a new uniform will be provided to students by next month.”