Assam: Education Department to check quality of school uniforms in state

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The state Education Department has decided to inspect the quality of the free school uniforms supplied to students of Class I to VIII in government or provincialized LP, UP, and composite schools. The quality checking process will be linked to the 6th round of Gunotsav, scheduled to be held in three phases from January 6 to February 9, 2025.

The decision was taken during a meeting held at the Samagra Shiksha, Assam (SSA) office under the chairmanship of Education Minister Ranoj Pegu. After the meeting, he said, "This time, a marking system will be adopted for the uniforms as well. It will enable us to determine if the best quality of free uniforms is being provided to the students. The marks will be in addition to the other marks obtained in Gunotsav by the schools. The Gunotsav process will be OMR-based, as was done in the earlier Gunotsavs."

Guidelines exist for the procurement and distribution of uniforms for students starting at the elementary level.

According to the guidelines, each child is to be provided two pairs of good-quality uniforms. Out of these two pairs, one will be a normal pair. The colour, pattern, specification, etc. for the normal pair would be as per the guideline. For the second pair, one coloured T-shirt with a collar, one skirt (for girls), and a half pant (for boys) will be supplied. Children will wear the second pair on Saturday. Schools will choose the colour of the T-shirt and skirt/pant. The two pairs of uniforms to be provided to each child are to be within the Government of India ceiling rate of Rs. 600.

The purchase and distribution of uniforms will be done through the School Management Committee/School Management Development Committee (SMC/SMDC).

There is also a guideline for quality control mechanisms to ensure that the children get quality uniforms. The guidelines also provide for a quality control committee to be constituted in each school. Despite the presence of the committee, questions arise regarding the quality of uniforms supplied to the students.

In light of the allegations, the Education Department decided to include the quality of school uniforms in the marking system for Gunotsav.

The Gunotsav 2025 will be held in three phases, from January 6 to February 9, 2025. A total of 43,23,499 students in 45,629 schools will be assessed in the next Gunotsav.

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