About 60,000 students in Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation schools are yet to receive basic educational supplies nearly three months after the academic year began, with the delay linked to the civic body’s decision to distribute the material through suppliers instead of transferring money directly to parents.
Students in the corporation’s 105 primary and 26 secondary schools have not received items including school bags, notebooks, raincoats and shoes, according to a report by Loksatta. The annual distribution also includes socks, compasses, textbooks, workbooks, water bottles and lunch boxes.
The education department had announced that the material would be provided on the first day of the academic year. In practice, students received textbooks, workbooks and uniforms made available through the government, but the remaining supplies had not been distributed, the report said.
The delay follows a disagreement over the method of delivery. The administration had proposed transferring the cost of the material directly to the bank accounts of parents under the direct benefit transfer system. The proposal involved sending Rs 24.97 crore to the accounts of parents of approximately 60,000 students.
The standing committee rejected that proposal, while the education committee retained its decision to procure the supplies from vendors through the e-Rupee system and distribute them to students. Rates have been fixed at between Rs 3,100 and Rs 4,100 for different classes, according to the report.
The administration has said that the required process has been completed. However, the supplies have not yet reached students. Officials have attributed the delay to the QR codes not being generated, which has prevented contractors from supplying the material.
The episode places a routine municipal education benefit within the operational chain of local government procurement. A decision on whether to use direct transfers or vendor-based distribution has affected when students receive material that was announced for the beginning of the academic year. The delay is particularly significant because the supplies include everyday items required for attendance and participation in school activities.
The corporation’s schools serve students who are entitled to receive the material free of cost every year. The reported delay therefore concerns not only procurement but also the timing and reliability of a municipal service delivered across 131 schools. The available report does not specify a revised distribution date.
The immediate issue now is the completion of the QR-code process and the handover of the pending supplies to students. The administration has stated that the process is complete, while the reported ground situation shows that distribution remains pending.
