Mumbai: Lack of infra for direct benefit transfer worries academia

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) move to facilitate banking skills among children by way of providing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) facility to students for the purchase of stationary has led to a slew of questions. Activists and experts from the education sector are left wondering ever since the proposal whether the DBT scheme will be successful or not.

Some think that parents may not use the money for the prescribed purpose while some are concerned if students will receive quality stationary that includes water bottles, lunch boxes and more. It is also not yet clear how the funds will be transferred considering that many students are yet to create their bank accounts.

The Direct Benefit Transfer is a newly-introduced state policy. By way of DBT, funds to purchase the academic stationary will be transferred directly to the students’ bank account. A budget provision of Rs 16.87 crore has been made for students of the primary section while Rs 2.82 crore has been provided for secondary section.

Education activist, Shyam Sonar said, “I don’t know how DBT will work in Mumbai after it has flopped in Thane municipal schools. We learnt that students of the Thane civic school were not getting quality products. One of the local political person had put up his stall and asked the school to force children to buy from his stall. Another important point is whether students with irregular attendance too will get this fund. Most of them migrate to another place in a year. Some parents are so poor that they struggle for food and as a result, are forced to spend the provided money for other needs; they send their children without uniform to school.”

Another teacher who works in one of the NGOs working with BMC schools said, “Not all schools are a 100 per cent successful in creating bank accounts for their students. The BMC has been following-up with parents on the same since two to three months now. But not all parents are responding to our request. I am also wondering whether the parents who have drinking habits will buy school stationery for their kids every year.”

Director of Avehi Abacus Project, Simantini Dhuru said, “The inflation and market price vary and hence students may not find the uniform in same price. It has been observed where there is DBT scheme the money doesn’t go on time in bank account of the student. There is also a possibility that the parents may prioritise using the money in some other place because they come from such poor background. This is not the concern in just BMC but its a trend in entire country. This indicates shedding responsibility by the state on the parents. We were proud that the BMC even before RTE came in place was giving 27 items to their school children which are their rights. Its a matter of concern that BMC is also falling in trap of privatization.”

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