Congress freebies effect: Karnataka govt slashes funds for school children's shoes & socks

The Karnataka government has slashed funds for the purchase of shoes and socks for school children owing to the guarantees it has promised. It even passed an order in this regard. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government has slashed Rs 7 crore from the total grant for buying shoes and socks. In 2022-23, the BJP government released Rs 132 crore for the purchase of one pair of shoes and two pairs of socks for students of classes 1 to 10. However, an amount of Rs 125 crore has been released for the year 2023-24, meaning Rs 7 crore was deducted and schools have been asked to buy the items.

This year too, the government has fixed the price of shoes at the same rate as it was during the BJP regime. Schools have been asked to buy shoes and socks at last year's rate. The government has ordered the purchase of shoes for 2023-24 at the same rate as in 2019-20.

Karnataka govt's move trouble for parents with low-income?

Nirmal Kumar, an education expert speaking to Republic TV said, that "the child will be under a lot of pressure to buy good quality shoes at the same price considering the fact that the prices have increased twice in a year. Also, the schools will start pressurising parents of the children for additional money to give good quality shoes. The government should ensure there is a committee to monitor schools if they demand money from parents."

Rate Card for the purchase of said items:

• Classes 1-5 – Rs 265
• Classes 6-8 - Rs 295
• Classes 9-10 - Rs 325

The government has instructed all schools to provide quality shoes for a lower price and of well-known brands with the funds earmarked by them. The government has also suggested what to do if the money is not enough to buy shoes. The circular reads "Teachers and school managements will inevitably have to turn to organisations and donors."

The government in its order has also mentioned that "shoes given to the children will have to be of first quality from reputed companies. The quality of the shoes will be inspected by a team appointed by the deputy director."

Meanwhile, the BJP has slammed the government stating that the freebies are responsible for this move. Speaking exclusively to Republic, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said, "Development projects are being stalled because funds are being diverted only for freebies. CM Siddaramaiah doesn't have funds to allot to MLAs for development work in their constituencies. Siddaramaiah should bring all this on a white paper (allocation of funds) and make it transparent for everyone (public) to see."

The school management and the parents are tensed by this decision taken by the government to slash funds. Veeraiah, a parent told Republic Media Network, "I am a mechanic and it becomes increasingly difficult for me to afford education for my child even at a government school if the school management demands extra money to provide shoes to my kids."