In temporary compromise, state allows 50:50 formula for school uniform

Mumbai: Students in government schools across the state will get two different uniforms in the coming academic year. One uniform will be from the state government, which will be the same in all government schools, while the other will be decided by the school management committee of every school. The government has taken this decision to provide relief to textile entrepreneurs who said they would incur huge financial losses due to the government’s recent decision to have a standardised uniform in schools across the state.

HT on Monday had reported how stakeholders were dismayed about this resurrection of a policy that had failed to take off two decades ago. But while the 50:50 formula may seem like a step-down, school education minister Deepak Kesarkar said it was not.

“We are not departing from our new uniform policy,” he told HT. “To help uniform manufacturers, we will give authority to the school management committee to decide which uniform students can use three days a week and which days they will wear the uniform decided by the state government. This decision gives relief to the uniform manufacturer for this year.” The official announcement of this decision will be made by Kesarkar on Tuesday morning in a scheduled press conference.

On Monday, representatives of the Solapur Readymade Kapad Utpadak Sangh (SRKUS) had a meeting with chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Prakash Pawar, secretary, SRKUS, said, “As per the government resolution (GR) issued in February, we started manufacturing uniforms in March. Right now, almost 70 percent of uniforms are ready, and the government has come up with a new policy. It is a huge loss to us. We requested the CM and DCM to reconsider this.”

Beginning with the new academic year, the state had plans to dress over 64.28 lakh students from Classes 1 to 8 in the same uniform. While the move would have resulted in an additional expenditure of ₹66.97 crore, students, parents, and teachers posed two basic questions: whether the new uniforms would reach students in time for school reopening in June and if the material would complement the weather in all parts of the state. Teachers were also perplexed about why the state government was adamant about reintroducing a shelved scheme.

As of now, the scheme stands altered, with the school management committees allowed to keep a uniform of their choice as well. However, as Kesarkar said, from next year, the government will standardise uniforms all over Maharashtra.