With rising prices of the basic commodities, many schools are finding it difficult to provide nutritious food with the money allocated by the government for this mid-day meal.
Mid-day meals are introduced in schools to ensure nutrition for students, especially for those belonging to backward families. This ensures, that children irrespective of economic status are not deprived of nutritious food, however, in the current situation where the price of goods is increasing, small budget schools are failing to meet their targets.
According to primary school teachers, the government now pays Rs 4.97 per student for a mid-day meal. But at present, the price of one piece of an egg is about Rs 6. Due to inflation, food such as rice, pulses, and curry will be provided to the students. In this situation, the teachers have informed that even though the government has directed to provide nutritious food, it is not possible to meet the nutrition guidelines due to the increase in prices of vegetables and other cooking essentials.
In schools that cook meals using LPG, the cost of the cylinder is more than Rs 1000. As a result, schools have resorted to cost-cutting measures. Nutritions like eggs or fish are no longer part of mid-day means and schools are being forced to give mid-day meals to the students only with vegetables.
A teacher from Palsha village in Indas area of Labhpur in Birbhum said, “It feels bad when we can’t put an egg or a piece of fish on the food plates of students. Because we have many students who come to school without eating anything in the morning time. We are forced to give only vegetables and rice to the students.”
On the other hand, Birbhum District Primary Parliament Chairman Dr. Proloy Naik said, “The problem is serious. The biggest problem is that the number of students in all the schools is low. In many cases, teachers are raising money for themselves and distributing mid-day meals to the students.”
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