As many as 75 high schools and upper primary schools for SC and ST students are functioning in the district but the amount dispersed to the students is too meagre for their upkeep, several school authorities claim.
During the recent Assembly winter session, the minister for SC and ST Mr Chaitanya Prasad, in reply to a question by the Ramagiri MLA Mr Bharat Paik reportedly said that the ministry allots Rs 500 for each boy and Rs 530 for each girl every month in these schools out of which Rs 85 is earmarked as pocket money for boys and Rs 115 is earmarked as pocket money for girls. The minister also said that Rs 10.33 paise is given per student per day for breakfast, lunch and dinner thereby allotting Rs 2 for breakfast.
“Although the minister’s statement is true, it is impractical to implement the division of money since it is impossible to serve breakfast for Rs 2, hence we are forced to skip serving breakfast and add the amount to the money spent on lunch and dinner,” said the headmaster-in-charge of a school in Rayagada. “We also do not serve non-vegetarian food, which is supposed to be served once a week in order to save the money and adjust the amount for other food expenses. As the money allotted is for 30 days per month only we have to save money through these methods in order to serve food to the students during the month shaving 31 days,” he added.
“Similarly, while every student gets Rs 10 for medicines, 32 paise for electricity and Rs 30 every four months for clothes, blankets, bed sheets, shoes and slippers, the actual expenses far exceed the sanctioned amount especially during illnesses,” he said.
“Instead of opening more schools, the state government should take care to ensure that the schools already functioning have the means to provide a comfortable place to stay and enough finances to ensure quality food to the students without which all the money invested will be wasted in extending mediocre facilities and hence producing mediocre students,” a teacher in another such school said.