TN: Notebooks for SC/ST pupils only on paper

CHENNAI: While the Tamil Nadu government has earmarked Rs 20 crore for distribution of free notebooks to students belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, at least 13 schools in five di­stricts have not received the notebooks, which gives rise to the big question: Where has the money gone?

Headmasters of the sch­ools, in their reply to RTI queries filed by S Karuppaiah of the Dalit Liberation Movement, have categorically said that they had not received any notebooks although P Sivasankaran, Commissioner of Adi Dravidar Welfare, has claimed that the scheme to provide free notebooks to students up to class 10 was on.

Karuppaiah had sought the information from 20 Adi Dravidar and Tribal welfare schools, Government and Government-aided schools but only 16 of them respo­nded. Of that, one headmaster refused to give any reply (students of the school have not received the notebooks) and two others provided figures that were contrary to what the district Adi Dravidar welfare officers gave.

While the welfare officer of Tiruvannamalai district said that seven notebooks were distributed to each of the students in classes six to ten and five notebooks each to those in classes four and five, the headmaster of the Government school at Annaiperanthan said that a total of only 176 notebooks were given to 176 Dalit students in classes six to ten of the school.