Telangana students may start school year without new uniforms

Delays in the centralised tendering process and pending student measurements may force students in Telangana government schools to begin the academic year 2026-27 in old uniforms, with concerns also raised over deadlines, payments and supply timelines.

Hyderabad: Students in government and local body schools across the State may have to commence the new academic year 2026-27 wearing old uniforms, as delays in the cloth tendering process and pending student measurements are set to push back the supply of new uniforms.

The issue stems from the centralised tendering process for procuring cloth for uniforms. Unlike the earlier practice of ordering uniform cloth from the Telangana Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Limited, the School Education department, as per the government’s directions, has joined the centralised procurement process along with social, tribal and BC welfare residential educational institutions societies.

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After the State government on April 2 issued a tender inviting bids for the supply of uniforms, school bags, shoes, socks, ties, belts and bedding materials on or before April 13 (5 pm), contractors during a pre-bid meeting recently raised concerns, stating that the tender was floated without specifying the required turnover value.

Further, the contractors raised issues about delivering supplies within 45 days as mandated in the tender, and flagged the short deadline for bid submissions and pending payments from previous tenders. It is learnt that the meeting remained inconclusive as the contractors walked out since there was no clarity on the payments of earlier bills. The government is expected to extend the bid submission deadline on Friday.

Until last year, the department commenced the uniform stitching process in February with the tendering of cloth, which was supplied by March or April, followed by stitching in May. The uniforms were distributed to students on the first day of school reopening on June 12. However, this time, the tenders have been invited in April.

Adding to the concern, measurements of students for stitching uniforms have not yet been taken, even as schools are set to break for summer vacation in about two weeks. Last year, schools completed the individual measurement process by March 20 and stitching by May 31.

“This time, we have not received communication from the department regarding the collection of measurements for uniforms,” said a government school headmaster. A total of 19.22 lakh students were enrolled in more than 26,900 schools under the department during the academic year 2025-26.

Telangana to print unique ID numbers on school shoes

Hyderabad: The School Education department, which has decided to provide shoes to students in government and local body schools across the State from the forthcoming academic year, has decided to print unique identification numbers on the shoes. This move is aimed at curbing any fraud or misreporting.

Around 19.22 lakh students will receive shoes, and each pair will come with a unique number that can be tracked. A similar system is currently being used for free textbooks, where identification markings are printed to ensure that books are not misused. A pair of socks and a belt will also be provided to these students.