Direct beneficiary transfer for students getting freebies

GUWAHATI: The State Education department is contemplating on shifting from 'kind to cash' when it comes to extending freebies to students – textbooks, uniform, laptops, scooties and the like.

The reason behind the move in favour of the DBT (Direct Beneficiary Transfer) mode may be not to leave any room for corruption and other anomalies.

In a significant move towards that end under the banner of 'Samagraa Siksha, Assam', its Mission Director sent a letter to all Inspectors of Schools to ensure that all students from Classes I to XII open their zero-balance bank accounts by November 30, 2020. This instruction is applicable for all students of government schools, government-aided schools, including special training centres, residential schools, Kasturba Valika Vidyalayas, model schools etc., in the State.

The Deputy Commissioners have also been instructed to monitor that opening of bank accounts is done by adhering to COVID-19 protocols. For minor students, their natural guardians will open the accounts.

The letter further says that the banks that will open such accounts will have to offer all facilities like Internet banking, mobile banking, free debit cards etc.

Even though the letter from the Mission Director is silent on the very purpose of opening the zero-balance accounts by students, a section of Inspectors of Schools feels that the move is the initiation of the DBT mode.

Students below ten years of age will have student-guardian joint accounts to be operated by guardians. Students above ten years of age will open accounts in their names, and the accounts can be operated by themselves.

Significantly, the 'Anundoram Borooah Awards-2020' were given away on Wednesday. However, instead of laptops the meritorious students were given Rs 20,000 each. The immediate reason for such a shift from 'kind to cash' was shown as the corona pandemic.

Sources, however, tell a different story. The government has had many a bitter experience of facing the wrath of the public for untimely supply of free textbooks, poor quality of free school uniform etc. "The government doesn't want to leave any room for corruption and anomalies in giving freebies to the students now," a source said.

However, if the move for DBT becomes a reality it won't be free from all ills. For instance, some poor families may not use the money their wards are supposed to get for their educational purposes.

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