Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday sought a report from the state education department about the “poor quality” of uniforms given to students of government and aided schools that were provided by the Mamata Banerjee government, said an official.

The chief minister met the secretaries of different departments on Monday for a periodic review.

“During the meeting, the chief minister sought to know from the secretary of the education department why the quality of the school uniform was so poor that the students could not wear them,” the official said.

“The CM also wanted to know the funds sanctioned by the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee government for supplying school uniforms, which agencies supplied them, and what the market rates of the uniforms were,” the official added.

Sources in the education department said the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) department was selected by the previous
government to provide the uniforms.

“Details are being gathered to provide the report to the chief minister’s office at the earliest,” said a source.

After the Mamata Banerjee government came to power in 2011, the state issued an SOP stating that ready-made uniforms for students from pre-primary to Class VIII in government and aided schools would be supplied through the MSME department.

The uniforms — navy blue and white, with shirts or kameez displaying the Biswa Bangla logo — were delivered to schools before the start of classes in January.

Before that, schools used to have their own uniforms.

Krishnanshu Mishra, general secretary of the West Bengal Headmasters’ Association, said the quality of the uniforms was so poor that many guardians did not use them and instead bought uniforms independently.

“It was not possible to make uniforms for so many students in such a short time. Obviously, this compromised the quality. When guardians bought uniforms from shops, we allowed students to wear dresses without the Biswa Bangla logo. We hope the new government will ensure better-quality uniforms,” said Mishra.