Govt school students to get two uniforms from state
The Maharashtra government will provide two sets of uniforms to students in government-run schools from Classes 1 to 8 starting next academic year. The uniforms will be stitched by women’s self-help groups. Some teachers, parents, and the uniform-making industry are unhappy with the decision.
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has announced that it will furnish all students from Classes 1 to 8 in government-run schools with two sets of uniforms from the coming academic year. The newly introduced uniforms comprise light blue shirts and dark blue pants for boys, while girls will wear light blue shirts and dark blue skirts or kameez and salwar in corresponding colours. One of these will serve as a Scout and Guide uniform and will feature shoulder stripes and pockets on both sides.
The school education department on Wednesday issued a Government Resolution (GR) confirming that the responsibility for providing these uniforms was vested with the government’s Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad (MPSP). While the tendering process and procurement responsibilities lie with MPSP, the stitching of the uniforms will be undertaken by women’s self-help groups.
HT was the first to report the storm over uniforms in June. In April, the school education department, in pursuance of the government’s ‘One State, One Uniform’ policy, took a decision to have a standardised uniform for all students of government-run schools. Before this, uniforms were selected by school management committees (SMCs).
The initial plan was for SMCs to provide one set of uniforms while the state supplied the other for Scouts and Guides. However, thanks to the government’s last-minute decision, uniforms could not be produced in time for the academic year. The government had also withdrawn the grant provided to schools for the second uniform, and the overall mess resulted in students having to make do with just one uniform provided by the SMC.
Teachers and parents are unhappy with the government’s decision to now provide both uniforms since the SMCs no longer have a say in the colour and style of the uniforms. The uniform-making industry, on its part, is disgruntled since the stitching has been handed over to women’s self-help groups.
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