Thousands of Mumbai BMC School Students Left Without Free Notebooks and Uniforms
More than a month after the start of the academic year, the majority of the 310,000 students enrolled in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools across Mumbai, including in Vikhroli, have not received their promised free school supplies. The delay in distributing uniforms, notebooks, stationery, and school kits has directly hindered learning for children from low-income families who cannot afford to purchase these basic materials.
According to the latest figures from the BMC, 298,000 students are still waiting for school kits, while 285,000 students have not received notebooks. Additionally, 245,000 students lack umbrellas, 211,000 are without stationery, 208,000 have not received sandals, and 186,000 are still waiting for uniforms.
Currently, only 4% of students have received school kits, and just 8% have received notebooks. While 90% of students have received raincoats, only 40% have received uniforms, 33% have received sandals, 32% have received stationery, and 21% have received umbrellas.
The delay has caused significant difficulties for families. Amarkant Sonavane, a parent whose child is enrolled in a BMC school in Vikhroli, highlighted the impact on daily education.
"Students from poor backgrounds who cannot afford to buy notebooks are suffering as they are unable to write class notes, complete homework or practice at home," Sonavane said. "How are students expected to continue their studies without basic learning materials?"
Education officials attributed the delay to a major shift in the civic body's procurement process. This year, the BMC transitioned its purchases from the Maharashtra state government’s Mahatender portal to the Central government’s Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
An anonymous official explained that the previous tender process had to be scrapped midway and restarted on the GeM portal. Furthermore, while supplies were previously procured through just two vendors, the GeM system requires different companies to be appointed for different items, which has lengthened the process.
So far, purchase orders have only been issued for notebooks, umbrellas, and uniforms, while procurement for other items remains under process.
To mitigate the impact, a second education department official stated that some leftover stock from previous years was distributed to students. The official added that fresh supplies are now starting to reach schools, and the pending procurement process is expected to be completed soon.
The BMC runs 918 schools across Mumbai, providing 27 free items to students annually. The free educational kit scheme was first introduced in 2007 to reduce the financial burden on poor families.
