Mid-Day Meal Scheme

What is the issue?

Two decades have passed since the mid-day meal became a part of the daily routine in government schools nationwide.
By this time, procedures have stabilised but accidents continue to occur. The procurement of food items still faces hurdles of different kinds.

What is a Mid-Day Meal scheme?

The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 1995.
It aims to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children.

What are some revealed corrupted practices?

Corrupt practices - A video showed plain chapatis being served with salt in a school.
Another video revealed how a litre of milk was mixed with water so that it would suffice for the more than 80 children present that day in school.
As per the government norms, every child is entitled to receive 150 ml of milk as part of the mid-day meal.
Supervision - These videos proved useful for the officers who supervise the scheme as they help them learn about the reality in schools.
Each such revelation leads to the same reflexive official statement: punish the guilty, locate the video-maker and deal with him/her.

What are the 3 categories of stories appearing in the media?

There are cases of bad food, leading to food poisoning.
There are different kinds of reports are about cheating.
The third category is pertaining to caste bias and discrimination.
Food is central to the caste system, so in many schools, children are made to sit separately according to their caste status.

Why the scheme should be made a part of curriculum?

There is so much to be learnt - food prices, quantities, cooking method, etc.
Data sorting is a part of the mathematics curriculum, and the meal provides ample data.
As an occasion, collective eating could also serve as a time to relax and reflect. But, none of this happens.
The mid-day meal is considered as a chore to be carried out under difficult circumstances and constraints.
The scheme is perceived as charity, not a civic responsibility.
Nowhere in the country can one see a comfortable absorption of the mid-day meal in the school’s daily life in a curricular sense.
Even in educationally advanced States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, one doesn’t hear stories of teachers asking children to keep a weekly record of what they eat, to assess the weekly intake of different nutrients.
In some regions, one can see the daily menu painted on the school wall.
Writing letters to authorities and documenting the gap between the painted menu and what is actually served might be a great activity.

What is its similarity with other schemes that serve the poor?

With the growing shift of the better-off parents to private schools, government schools are viewed as places for the poor.
Therefore, the mid-day meal is associated with poverty both in public perception and state policies.
Like other schemes that serve the poor, this scheme is also covered by norms that insist on the cheapest.
The menu, the money, the cook’s remuneration, the infrastructure - they all show the value India places upon its children.
Nor is the scheme conceived as a pedagogic resource.
While the northern States strictly depend on the Central grant, the southern States augment it significantly.
That is why horror stories from the south are less frequent than those from the north.

What does UNICEF’s open letter say?

UNICEF’s executive director Henrietta Fore recently wrote an open letter to the world’s children.
It marked 30 years since the promulgation of children’s rights by global consensus.
The letter listed eight reasons why its writer is worried and another eight why she is hopeful.
Reading the two lists, one will feel that there is a lot more to worry about than to feel hopeful about.
Coverage - The letter starts by acknowledging that poverty, inequality and discrimination still deny millions of children their rights.
Food and education are among them.
Then there are larger issues like the impact of conflicts, climate change, new technologies and their impact on the integrity of democratic procedures.
The concluding part of the letter is about children’s loss of trust in institutions.
From fake news to divisive policy choices, the UNICEF chief’s global letter evokes a wide range of local thoughts.
A whole new industry backed by public institutions is now handling the supply side of public demand for moral training during the formative years of life.
UNICEF must be aware that some of its sister agencies in the UN system are actively involved in the emerging neuroscience of ethics.
One cannot charge fake news alone for waylaying the young.

Source: The Hindu