Apco fails to keep date on school uniforms

Apco fails to keep date on school uniforms
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Highlights

The Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weaver’s Cooperative Society (Apco), which is the designated agency to supply uniforms for the students in government and aided schools has not able to provide them even after a week of schools’ reopening.

Ongole: The Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weaver’s Cooperative Society (Apco), which is the designated agency to supply uniforms for the students in government and aided schools has not able to provide them even after a week of schools’ reopening.

Highlights:

  • The society is scheduled to supply uniforms to kids in govt, aided and residential schools on the first day of schools’ reopening
  • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan awarded the Rs 25 cr contract to Apco to provide uniforms to 38 lakh pupils in govt schools

As per the statistics of the education department, there will be 38 lakh students in the government, aided and residential schools in the state. All these students should be provided with a pair of uniform clothes and textbooks for free of cost by the government.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) decided that all students in the government schools should have the same pattern of uniform. It awarded the contract to Apco to supply school dresses for the 38 lakh students at a cost of Rs 25 crores. The SSA ordered the Apco to deliver the uniforms by June first week, to distribute them on the very first day of the reopening of schools.

The Apco should have taken the measurements of all except the Class VI students before the closing of schools before summer vacations, and completed the stitching in holidays. Similarly, the government has also promised to supply textbooks on the first day after holidays to all students. But after one week of schools, only 40 per cent students were able to receive them.

K Lakshmi Narayana, mandal education officer of Chirala, said, “We sent the indent for the uniforms for this year but have not received them yet. About 40 per cent of textbooks have been received and distributed to the students and we are making arrangements to supply the remaining in two or three days.” Apco never supplies uniform in time, says M Venkata Sudhakar, the project officer of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for Prakasam district.

He said that the uniforms for the last academic year were supplied to the students in February after a lot of requests made to the agency. He said, “We have sent indent for the uniforms for 2,39,823 students in 3,103 government, 237 aided and 37 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in the district to the Apco.

They should supply uniforms before the opening of schools and take measurements for the newly-joined students this week. We have no information of them taking the measurements in the schools this week. The senior officials are asking the Apco to complete the supplying of uniforms at least by this month-end.”

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