Telangana government junior college students likely to get free uniforms from next academic year

Intermediate Education Department has proposed providing two pairs of free uniforms to students in government junior colleges across the State. If approved, the scheme will benefit over 1.6 lakh students from the next academic year under Samagra Shiksha

Hyderabad: If the Intermediate Education Department’s proposal fructifies, students in government junior colleges will get uniforms from the next academic year.

The department has proposed providing two pairs of uniforms free of cost to each student studying in all government junior colleges in the State. On Saturday, the government held discussions with officials from various departments on this proposal.

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“The idea behind proposing uniforms at the intermediate level is to ensure uniformity among students and to help identify those who skip classes and roam outside during college hours,” sources said. At present, there are 430 government junior colleges across the State, with over 1.6 lakh students enrolled.

It may be mentioned here that the State, in partnership with the Central government, already provides free uniforms to students in government-run schools. Every year, about 24 lakh students receive two pairs of uniforms each. The government spends Rs 600 per pair, incurring a total annual cost of about Rs 133 crore for one academic year.

According to official estimates, extending free uniforms to intermediate students might require an additional Rs 30 crore annually, with Rs 750 per pair.

The intermediate education has recently been brought under the Samagra Shiksha project, through which the free uniforms would be distributed. The expenses for this scheme would be shared between the Centre and State government in a 60:40 ratio.