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‘Ek rupaya bhi nahi aaya’: Delhi parents still wait for school aid for uniforms, bags as 2.3 lakh MCD students yet to receive funds

Nearly 2.32 lakh students — studying in about 1,500 MCD schools — are yet to receive the money.

Academic year nearly over, MCD school students yet to receive financial aid to buy uniform, bag

Each student studying at a MCD-run school is entitled to receive Rs 1,670 annually.

3 min readNew DelhiFeb 9, 2026 02:34 PM IST First published on: Feb 8, 2026 at 05:05 AM IST

“I AM told by the school to check my account again and again… but not even a single rupee has been credited so far,” said Rajesh Pandit (38), who works as a mason, as he sums up the excruciating wait to buy uniform, stationary and school bag for his son, a Class 5 student at a MCD-run school, even as the academic year is about to end.

Each student studying at a MCD-run school is entitled to receive Rs 1,670 annually under a government scheme that enables direct bank transfer (DBT) for uniform (Rs 1,250), stationary (Rs 300) and bag (Rs 120).

Many parents like Pandit are stuck in a similar situation.

Nearly 2.32 lakh students — studying in about 1,500 MCD schools — are yet to receive the money. The number of affected students was confirmed last December by Ashwani Kumar, then MCD commissioner, in his Budget speech.

Senior officials said the funds are released annually by the government. “This time, the grant-in aid is estimated to be Rs 235 crore. Of this, the share of DBT is pegged at Rs 109 crore. But till now, we have only received Rs 58 crore for DBT transactions,” an official said, adding that Rs 19 crore has been released by the MCD from its own pocket so far.

No response was received from Education Minister Ashish Sood’s office when contacted for comment.

This is the first time, officials said, that such a delay has been seen. “We received the first instalment in September, post which the sanction order for second instalment was dated October 31. We had written twice to the government in November, requesting the release of the second instalment,” said an official. The Indian Express has learnt that the two letters were sent on November 6 and 14, 2025.

The MCD, meanwhile, last September had said that Rs 109 crore has been transferred to bank accounts of students.

MCD Education Committee chairman Yogesh Verma said there is no financial crunch and that funds are yet to reach only those students who did not have functional bank accounts or were not compliant with KYC (know your customer) norms.

However, sources said 30,000-35,000 students are facing delay in disbursement.

Another parent whose son studies in the MCD school in Anand Vihar said their account is functional but the aid has not been credited yet. “I bought two school uniforms for Rs 1,300 on my own. Till when will I wait,” said Ravirajan Pandey (32) who works as a security guard.

Principals and teachers expressed helplessness at the situation. “Earlier, a pool of money used to get transferred to the school, and from here, we used to send it to the students’ account. This time, the Education department asked us to upload details of all students on the portal for DBT. The window given was very small… Despite following the process, we are still waiting for the money,” said a teacher. Thirty-three students in her school are yet to receive the amount.

Naveen Sangwan, Joint General Secretary of Akhil Delhi Prathmik Sikshak Sangh, a teachers’ body, said the issue is not just limited to DBT. “The annual budget allocated to the principal of a school, which goes up to Rs 2 lakh, to carry out minor repairs in schools, has also not been received.”