Narmada (Gujarat), Jan 3 (IANS): A primary teacher from Narmada district has appealed to people to donate woollen clothes for the poor tribal students.

"Around 84 students of the government primary school are so poor that they don't have woollen clothes to protect them from the chilling winter," the teacher has said in his appeal.

Vinubhai Gujariya, one of the two school teachers of the Chopdi village of the Dediapada Taluka told IANS, "I was transferred to this school a few months ago. There are 84 students from Class 1 to 8, all students coming from very poor families, none of them have a single woollen cloth. So I made this appeal to the people of Gujarat to donate clothes."

Gujariya was equally concerned that his appeal should not backfire on him and the government should not take any action against him or the second teacher for appealing to the public to donate woollen clothes. This appeal is only to protect children from winter, he said.

When IANS took up the matter with District Primary Education Officer Jayesh Patel, he said that under the government scheme, for each academic year, the students are provided one pair of uniforms for which money is transferred to the children's accounts.

"There is no other scheme under which children can be provided woollen clothes, but still he will look into the matter and try to help students," said Patel.

The school teacher said bank accounts are in children's parents' names. "They are using the fund meant for school uniforms. He has complained that 50 per cent of 84 students have only one pair of clothes, other than one pair of school uniform," said Gujariya.