Noida: Sunita Devi’s son has outgrown his uniform. It has thinned at the seams, and in the heat and humidity, it soaks through with sweat within minutes of the walk to school, taking hours to dry.“I have not been able to buy him a new set as the Rs 1,200 composite grant for school supplies has not arrived,” Sunita, a resident of Muradnagar, said.Nearly four months into the academic session, more than 33,000 students in govt primary schools across Noida and Ghaziabad are still waiting for that money, a Direct Benefit Transfer meant to cover uniforms, shoes, sweaters, school bags and stationery. Roughly 16,000 of them are in Gautam Budh Nagar, another 17,000 in Ghaziabad. Many are attending class in home clothes and slippers, the closest thing they have to a uniform.The first phase of the transfer went through months ago. The second has stalled. Basic education department officials told TOI that registration and verification for the remaining students were still being processed, holding up the release of funds. More than 1 lakh students across the two districts have already been paid this session, officials said.“The remaining beneficiaries are largely newly registered students. In many cases, Aadhaar seeding with bank accounts is still pending,” Basic Shiksha Adhikari Rahul Pawar said, adding that the balance would be transferred once verification is complete.Like Sunita, another mother in Ghaziabad said her daughter has been attending school in slippers for weeks. “We survive on daily wages. Buying uniforms, shoes and school supplies together is difficult without govt assistance,” she said,No deadline has been set for completing the verification. Officials acknowledged that some eligible students are left waiting each year because of pending documentation or unlinked bank accounts — a recurring gap between when the school year begins and when the promised help actually arrives.
