LUCKNOW, May 5 -- Nearly 22 lakh students in government-run primary and upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh may miss out on the Rs 1,200 direct benefit transfer (DBT) meant for school uniforms, shoes, bags, and stationery this academic year, as their verification process remains incomplete. The basic education department has so far verified 87.73 lakh students out of the 1.09 crore children promoted to the next class. The verification backlog is delaying the disbursement of DBT to parents' bank accounts, nearly a month after the new session began. "There will be a delay in sending the amount of school dress, shoes, socks, sweaters, bags and stationery through DBT due to non-verification of about 22 lakh students who got promoted to the next class in council primary and upper primary schools," an official said. Under the current process, headmasters must verify on the Prerna portal the number of students who have taken admission in the next class and those who have dropped out. These records must then be validated online by BEOs and BSAs. They also need to confirm that the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of students' guardians are active. Out of the verified students, 3.27 lakh records are pending approval at the BEO level and another 3.33 lakh at the BSA level. Deputy education director (primary), SK Upadhyay, expressed concern over the delay in a letter dated May 1. He instructed all headmasters, BEOs and BSAs to expedite the verification process for the 2025-26 session....