₹125 not enough to buy shoes, say parents of UP govt school students
Uttar Pradesh parents say the ₹125 for shoes and socks is insufficient, forcing many students to wear slippers to school amid rising costs.
Parents of government school students feel the amount of ₹125 each that the Uttar Pradesh government sends them year via direct benefit transfer for shoes and socks is barely enough to buy slippers, according to people in the know of things in the education sector.
As a result, a sizeable number of students in Uttar Pradesh have to wear slippers, instead of shoes, to school, people in the education sector, quoting the parents. While the rate has not been revised since 2021 when the government started DBT, a senior official said a proposal is being worked out to increase it.
For his part, Ram Sewak, father of a government school student in Bahraich, said, “A pair of black shoes and socks will cost much more than what the government provides. The government machinery must understand the harsh reality as prices of commodities have sky-rocketed and one can barely buy slippers with this money.”
At Varanasi’s Nagwa Prathamik Vidyalaya and Chhitupur Prathamik Vidyalaya, a majority of the students were seen in slippers. The situation was the same at the primary school (Rithora) in Bahraich’s Jarwal and many schools in Lucknow too.
Many parents expressed difficulties in purchasing proper footwear with the allocated budget.
“It’s difficult to buy even a pair of slippers for children for ₹125 these days. How can we arrange shoes for our kids with this amount?” asked Savitri Devi, a homemaker from a village in Barabanki.
Savtiri Devi’s two sons, aged nine and six years, go to the primary school in the village wearing slippers.
In winter, the mother makes the brothers wear worn-out socks, a makeshift arrangement adopted by almost every student.
Sri Ram Singh, a marginal farmer of Sitapur district, said shoes are a luxury which his family can’t afford.
“It is difficult to buy proper dress for my two children who go to the government primary school with the money we get. I spend extra on the stationery and bag. I can’t afford shoes for them. My children manage with the slippers which I buy for them,” he said.
The increasing cost of living and limited financial resources have compelled parents to resort to cheaper alternatives, often compromising the children’s comfort and safety.
This trend has raised concerns about the efficacy of the scheme and the quality of footwear provided in the past.
Principal secretary, basic education, Shanmuga Sundaram said, “We do understand that the amount may not be sufficient for the parents, especially those who cannot incur the extra amount for purchasing the required items. We are working out a proposal for increasing it further so that all five items - two sets of uniforms, sweater, shoes and socks, school bag and stationery items - can be adequately covered.”
In 2017, the Yogi Adityanath government introduced the scheme to distribute free shoes and socks to millions of government school students in Uttar Pradesh.
Between 2017 and 2020, the government distributed shoes free of cost.
The initial distribution was marred by poor quality, leading to widespread damage of the shoes provided, causing dissatisfaction.
To address these issues, the government shifted to a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) model in 2021, crediting money directly to the parents’ accounts.
Under the DBT mode, the government pays ₹600 for two sets of uniforms, ₹175 for a schoolbag, ₹125 for shoes and socks and ₹200 for a sweater. Out of the total ₹1100, ₹600 is borne by central government and the remaining ₹500 by the state government.
While the intention was to empower parents to choose suitable footwear, the allocated ₹125 for a pair of shoes and socks per child has proven to be insufficient.
Education experts and social activists have called for a re-evaluation of the scheme. They suggest that the government should either increase the allocated amount or explore partnerships with footwear manufacturers to provide high-quality, affordable footwear.
When contacted, director general school education, Kanchan Verma said, “The government is doing its best to provide the best of amenities to students. We have been transferring money in their account. If they don’t buy shoes and socks with that money, what can we do?”
“Teachers have no authority for the correct implementation of the DBT scheme, except for repeatedly explaining or motivating the parents. If a parent is adamant on not buying dress, shoes and socks, then what can the teacher do? In the DBT scheme, the communication is directly between the government and the parent. The teacher only acts as a catalyst,” said Vipin Bihari, a teachers’ leader.
FOOTWEAR AND FUNDS
In 2017, the Yogi government spent ₹266 crore on distributing free pair of shoes and socks to all 1.54 crore government-run primary and upper primary students. The shoes were distributed around Diwali in 2017. But by Holi 2018, soles of lakhs of pairs of shoes were ripped open.
In a front page report, ‘With shoes worth ₹266 cr in tatters, UP kids walk ‘barefoot’ to schools’ on March 28, 2018, Hindustan Times had highlighted how students were using rubber bands to piece together the gifted pair of shoes.
The Uttar Pradesh government suffered a huge embarrassment. In an official statement, the UP basic education department had admitted that out of 1,72,113 pair of shoes distributed to the children in government-run primary and upper primary schools in Lucknow, approximately 15,000 shoes were found to be damaged.
In 2024, about ₹1,000 crore was allocated for providing free sweaters, shoes and bags to around two crore school children of classes 1 to 8. To be precise, a sum of ₹650 crore was allocated for providing free sweaters, shoes and socks and ₹350 crore for school bags for over two crore students of Classes 1 to 8 in government schools.
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