Mid Day Meal Scheme: A boon to deprived section

Vikash Ranjan

New Delhi

Wed, 30 Apr 2008: 

The endemic poverty, besides lack of awareness among masses for the significance of education is one of the major causes affecting primary education. Low enrolment, high drop out, lack of awareness among parents for need of girls’ education and most of all poverty which hinders the children to to school propelled the central government to take some drastic measures in this regard and eventually came with the ‘mid-day meal programme’ to answer the issue.

The scheme soon started bearing fruit after the government bore down the programme across the nation in terms of augmentation of enrolment of more children and also their regular presence in the school. The scheme eliminated the crisis of classroom hunger in perpetuity as most of the children used to come school empty stomach or either who came after having breakfast or from distant places again felt hungry resulted in the lack of concentration in the studies. Thus, the programme since then started improving the quality of education and learning levels of children.

Mid-day meal supports the maxim “healthy mind resides in healthy body.” It acts as a regular source of “supplementary nutrition” for children, which facilitates their healthy growth. It also imparts good habit to children such as washing hands before and after eating and educates them about the significance of drinking clean water, good hygiene, and many other basic matters.

National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education popularly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was launched as a Centrally-sponsored Scheme on August 15, 1995 with the objective to boost universalisation of primary education by augmenting enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously impacting on nutrition of students in primary classes. The programme originally started in 1995 went on subsequent revision in the year 2004 and 2006.

By October 2002 the Mid Day Meal Programme was extended to all children studying in Government/Local Body, Government Aided and Centre’s run schools under the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative Innovative Education (AIE) are eligible to participate in the Mid Day Meal Programme.

Special care is given to the food items make available to children in the Mid Day Meal. Meal with nutritional value of 450 calories and 12-gms of proteins is provided to the children studying in class I-V. Whereas for children in upper primary classes a meal containing 700 calories and 20 gms of protein is provided.

Diet Chart

Besides rice and chapattis, the meal comprises pulses, vegetables depending upon local availability. Some States as per their convenience are also providing eggs, fruits etc. Normally, a village Panchayats, VEC, Self-Help Groups etc prepares the weekly menu for the meals cooking in schools. In some cases it is seen that States prescribed weekly menu for all schools, but are not mandatory giving options for alterations as per the local availability.

In order to ensure that a wholesome and nutritious meal is served regularly to children, representatives of Gram Panchayats/Gram Sabhas, members of VECs, PTAs as well as Mothers’ Committees can monitor the regularity and wholesomeness of the mid day meal served to children, and examine cleanliness in cooking and serving.

According to Guidelines of the Scheme, schools are required to display Daily Menu in addition to other information.

Financial Assistance

In addition to free meal to Primary Schools, the Central Government also contribute for cooking cost. In the States in North Eastern region, the Central Government contributes at least 20 paise per child per school day, whereas the State government spends Rs 1.80 per child per school day.

The State government in other states and UTs spends Rs 1.50 per child per school day of which Central government contributes a minimum of 50 paise.

As far as Upper Primary School is concerned, the State government spends Rs 2.30 per child per day to the North Eastern region States and for other States and UTs it is Rs 2.00 per child per day. The Centre respectively contributes minimum 20 and 50 paise.

Achievements of Mid Day Meal

Mid Day Meal helps in imparting egalitarian values, as children from different social background sit together as well as share a common meal.

Thus the scheme is on a roll working for slackening castes and class barriers.

Most importantly, the appointment of cooks from Dalit communities also helps to overcome caste prejudices.

The gender-gap also goes to downhill owing to Mid Day Meal Scheme that prevents girls from attending school.