The state provides two sets of school uniforms to more than 1.15 crore students from Classes I to class VIII every year. A senior government official said, “Every year, the first set of school uniforms starts reaching schools in March-April and the second sets reach in the second half of the year, which created many problems. Many schools failed to get the second sets of school dresses within December. That is why the state administration decided to change the schedule from 2025 onwards.”

Last week, the Chief Secretary convened a meeting with Finance Secretary Prabhat Misra, Education Secretary Binod Kumar, and many other top officials of the state.

A senior official of the MSME department said, “Earlier, the West Bengal Government used to bring necessary clothes for uniforms from Gujarat and other states, but now our state is self-sufficient.”

He further added, “Already, we have finalised the design of the uniform from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, and the MSME department has started distributing the cloth needed for the purpose from this week. We are expecting the first set of uniforms to be produced within mid-January. Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary ordered all for due uniform distribution to be completed this November.”

While the MSME department is supplying clothes for the project, the Self-Help Groups department is assembling and making the uniforms, and the School Education department will distribute these uniforms to primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools.