The Maharashtra education department has warned civic and zilla parishad authorities of strict action for inaccurate student data ahead of textbook distribution. Over 17.78 lakh books have been demanded in Mumbai for nearly 2.83 lakh students under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. Officials aim to place textbooks in students’ hands from day one.

Mumbai: As the new academic year will begin from June, the state education department cautioned the civic and zilla parishad authorities to provide detailed information about the student count, failing to do so strict will be initiated for the first time. So far, a demand of 17,78,933 textbooks for all classes has been registered in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for 2,82,954 students.

Education Department Directed School Authorities

Earlier this month, the education department had directed the school authorities to confirm the student headcount during the Physical Aptitude Test (PAT) as well, to verify the student database already available on UDISE and Pavitra portals.

Under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, free textbooks are distributed to students of classes one to eight in Zilla Parishad, Municipal Corporation and aided schools in the state. As the schools will start regularly from June 15, the administration expects to complete the books distribution process at the earliest.