Refer - The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
The latest criticism in mid-day meals scheme is milk. Government norms entitle every child to receive 150 ml of milk as part of the mid-day meal. However, recent events shows how one litre of milk was mixed in a bucketful of water so that it would suffice for the more than 80 children present that day in a school in rural Uttar Pradesh (U.P.).
Making it part of curriculum
· Ever since it was made compulsory under a Supreme Court order, the mid-day meal scheme has received considerable appreciation.
· There are cases of bad food, leading to food poisoning, about cheating, caste bias and discrimination.
· Food is central to the caste system, so it is not surprising that in many schools, children are made to sit separately according to their caste status. Several parents ask their children to carry their own food as the school cook belongs to a lower caste.
· The mid-day meal is a chore, to be carried out under difficult circumstances and constraints. The cook is miserably paid; the food items that qualify for selection are the cheapest available; and post-meal cleaning arouses no Gandhian memories in anyone’s mind.
· 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 — both in public perception and state policies — with poverty. Like other schemes that serve the poor, this scheme is also covered by norms that insist on the cheapest.
· Children receiving a litre of milk mixed in a bucketful of water will surely understand the concept of cheating better than that of fair play.
Manojkumar B 5 years
Kindly review
IAS Parliament 5 years
Good attempt. Keep writing.
Shivangi 5 years
Please review. Thank you.
IAS Parliament 5 years
Good answer. Keep Writing.
Chinna 5 years
Kindly review...thank you...
IAS Parliament 5 years
Good answer. Keep Writing.
