First of all, the well-intended program to provide sanitary napkins to students in Bihar schools has grown to include sanitary pads as well! Under the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, sanitary pads are now being provided to both girls and boys! Yes, you heard that right. In a co-ed government school in Manjhi block of Saran district, Halkori Sah High School had been found to have been involved in the ‘unusual extension’ incident.
‘These irregularities in the utilization of funds, under the scheme, were detected by the headmaster of the school. The headmaster in his report to the competent authority informed that at least seven boys of the school were allegedly distributed funds (Rs. 150 each annually) for sanitary napkins during 2016-17’, said Ajay Kumar Singh, District Education Officer (DEO).
According to PTI reports, ‘A two-member committee has been constituted to probe the matter. Appropriate disciplinary action will be initiated against the erring public servants on the basis of the findings of the committee. The committee will submit its report within four days’.
PTI has repeatedly attempted to contact Sanjay Kumar. There was no comment from Bihar’s Additional Chief Secretary (Education) regarding the strange case. Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, announced the scheme in February 2015. In government schools, sanitary napkins were distributed free of charge as part of a program to curb dropout rates and improve health and hygiene.
In the scheme-Mukhyamantri Kishori Swasthya Karyakram-school girls from class VIII to X are given Rs 150 each annually to buy sanitary napkins for personal use. Currently, around Rs 60 crore is spent annually by the state government for this purpose. According to government data, approximately 37 lakh girls attend government schools as a result of this scheme.
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