“Our parents cannot afford shoes. We have to walk around 14 km barefoot daily to reach our school at Yepaladinni village in Raichur district and back home, ‘‘ says a Class VIII student Yashoda. Her village Raladoddi is situated 25 km from Raichur city, but has no bus facilities. It takes around one and half hours for students from Raladoddi to reach Yepaladinni school on foot, which is around 7 km. Sandeep, a Class IX student of Appanadoddi village, which is 6 km from Yepaladinni, also faces the same situation.
Even though Karnataka government announced on Friday that it would release ₹132 crore to procure socks and shoes through SDMCs, it would take at least two months before it can reach them. As of now, government and aided schools students are going to schools in old uniforms (work orders have been issued for them recently) and wearing slippers or going barefoot, particularly in rural areas.
In Malnad areas, students walk long distances to reach the schools and they require proper footwear. A.G. Nityananda, president of the School Development and Monitoring Committee of GHPS at Honnetalu in Tirthahalli taluk, said the last time the government provided funds for shoes and socks was in 2020. “Some donors have been supporting our school,” he said.
