Venugopal Kalakota (PAISA associate), Accountability Initiative

While on the field, our PAISA associates come across various bewildering situations. This one about the cycling of funds through the system, without leading to any output, is one of the funnier ones.

Following the passage of the Right to Education 2010, the State Implementation Society(SIS) for Sarva Shiska Abhiyan, took a decision to provide two sets of uniforms to every student enrolled in a government elementary school[SA1] .  Funds for the uniforms were to be transferred to schools, who in turn where given the responsibility for purchasing uniforms at a local level. Consequently funds were transferred into school accounts in FY 2011 ( at a unit cost of Rs. 200 per uniform) .

During the course of the PAISA survey, while scrutinizing the school passbooks, we found that although schools had received the uniform grant, none had spent it and in fact the funds had been re-appropriated back in to the district account. This seemed decidedly odd and so we probed the issue further. On probing we learnt that later that year contrary instructions had been issued by the  SIS to retrieve the grant amount transferred to schools!  This was because the state office, upon transferring money to schools, changed its mind and decided instead to procure uniforms centrally. To do this, the SIS office entered in to a contract with the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society (APSHWCS). As a consequence of this administrative confusion, HMs found themselves in a bewildering situation of re-transferring funds received. The ultimate price however was borne by the students who as a result did not receive their uniforms on time.