Punjab govt to give school uniforms to general category boys

The Punjab government will give uniforms to nearly 2.66 lakh boys belonging to the general category and studying in Classes 1 to 8 at state-run schools.

The decision was taken by the Punjab Cabinet led by CM Charanjit Singh Channi with an aim to increase enrolment, reduce dropout rate and attract students to government schools, an official statement said here.

The government will spend about Rs 15.98 crore in current financial year on providing uniforms to students, it added.

Presently, the School Education Department is providing free uniforms costing up to Rs 600 per student to all girls and boys belonging to the SC and BPL categories.

The Punjab Cabinet also accorded approval for setting up Sant Kabir, Jeevan Singh/ Jaita and Makhan Shah Lubana chairs in Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; and Guru Ravidas and Bhagwan Valmiki chairs in Punjabi University, Patiala.

Another chair will be set up soon in the name of Bhagwan Parashuram, the statement said.

This decision would help in undertaking extensive research on these prominent personalities with an objective to study their invaluable contribution to society, the statement said.

To ensure economic viability of private sugar mills and timely payment of state agreed price (SAP) to the farmers for the current crushing season, the Cabinet also gave approval to provide financial assistance at the rate of Rs 35 per quintal to sugarcane farmers out of the SAP on behalf of private sugar mills.

This amount will be deposited directly into the bank account of sugarcane farmers.

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