Pune: In a heartening display of community support, school supplies worth ₹2.01 crore were collected through public participation for economically disadvantaged students attending Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools. The supplies were distributed to the students on June 15, following an appeal by ZP Chief Executive Officer Santosh Patil, which saw an overwhelming response from both parents and teachers.

The new academic year for government schools in Maharashtra commenced on June 15. Ahead of this, ZP CEO Santosh Patil and District Education Officer (Primary) Sanjay Naikade urged teachers to engage the public in supporting underprivileged students.

Responding to this call, teachers took proactive steps to provide free educational supplies to deserving students on the first day. Contributions from 5,320 teachers across 1,630 of the district's 3,621 council schools amounted to ₹30.8 lakh in a single day. Parents and philanthropists further contributed supplies worth ₹1.81 crore, bringing the total to ₹2.11 crore.

The donated supplies included school bags, water bottles, notebooks, tables, chairs, art books, and various stationery items. These were distributed to the students by local representatives, parents, officials, and villagers on the first day of school.

Adding to the initiative, employees and officers of the Zilla Parishad's primary education department raised an additional ₹1 lakh. This fund was used to purchase and distribute school supplies to needy and deserving students in the rural areas of the district, further extending the reach of this community-driven effort.

In 2021-22, number of students in Zilla Parishad schools were 45,58,008. However, in 2022-23, the total number of registered students in Zilla Parishad schools saw a decrease of 3,13,764 students. Lack of access to school supplies, especially for the economically disadvantaged students was one of the key reasons behind students dropping out of Zilla Parishad schools in the district.