Newspaper report on adverse effect of the mid day meals
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New Delhi: Despite talk of better implementation and bigger budgets, the government seems to be slipping in its flagship mid-day meal programme for school children.
Monitoring and quality control is lagging leading to more children falling sick after eating school meals. In 2014, the number of students falling sick more than tripled from 2013, and jumped six fold over 2012 numbers—no wiser after last year’s deaths of 23 students in Bihar from adulterated school meals.
At least 1,504 students were affected by poor quality mid-day meals in 2014, up from 442 in 2013, 247 in 2012 and 182 in 2011, according to data available with the human resource development (HRD) ministry. Moreover, the scheme reached just 78% of the intended schoolchildren, a failing that the HRD ministry feels needs urgent attention. The figure is lower for states such as Jharkhand, where it covers 54% of children, Uttar Pradesh (55%), Delhi (61%) and Bihar (68%).
India’s school meal programme aims to improve enrolment and attendance in school, make Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (universal elementary education) a success and improve the nutritional intake of children studying in state schools. With a huge mandate, this scheme has attracted an ever-bigger budget every year. For 2014-15, it has been allocated ₹ 13,215 crore, nearly 30% more than what it was getting some three years back.
An HRD ministry official said success of the scheme will depend on the sincerity of states who are equal partners in the implementation process. The HRD ministry is in touch with states for improving implementation.
“Emergency medical plan is essential for saving precious lives of the children during any untoward incidents. The state governments have already been requested...to develop the emergency medical plan. Government of Odisha has already prepared this plan. But many states are yet to prepare the plan," said an HRD ministry note. It said that the ministry will ask all states to develop plans by the end of 2014.
Taking note of the situation, the HRD ministry in a recent meeting decided to carry out a social audit in at least nine states, including Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, soon to improve monitoring.
“Social audit is an important tool for monitoring the scheme through community participation. Govt. of Andhra Pradesh has already undertaken social audit in two districts viz. Khammam and Chittoor," the ministry note said.
A Bihar government official, who asked not to be named, said that there is huge pressure to improve attendance records because of the Right to Education Act. Giving a very rough estimate, the official said that only about 250 out of 400 students in a school would turn up. He attributed the non-attendance to “socio-economic conditions, quality of food, teaching standards in government schools, and poor infrastructure and lack of cleanliness in schools".
The official, however, denied more students were taking ill due to poor mid-day meals. “These are more rumour than fact," this official said.
Rama Ramachandran, director of the Nutrition Foundation of India, who is also a member of an expert committee on midday meals set up by the HRD ministry said: “Have we made a good start, the answer is yes; have we reached perfection? There is a long way to go."
Yamini Aiyar, director of Accountability Initiative, a part of the Centre for Policy Research, said that implementation is a major issue with mid-day meals but added that there are states where implementation is better. “Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh are doing much better. In Chhattisgarh, women self-help groups are involved in the scheme leading to better outcome. Other states can learn from them," she said
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Monitoring and quality control is lagging leading to more children falling sick after eating school meals. In 2014, the number of students falling sick more than tripled from 2013, and jumped six fold over 2012 numbers—no wiser after last year’s deaths of 23 students in Bihar from adulterated school meals.
At least 1,504 students were affected by poor quality mid-day meals in 2014, up from 442 in 2013, 247 in 2012 and 182 in 2011, according to data available with the human resource development (HRD) ministry. Moreover, the scheme reached just 78% of the intended schoolchildren, a failing that the HRD ministry feels needs urgent attention. The figure is lower for states such as Jharkhand, where it covers 54% of children, Uttar Pradesh (55%), Delhi (61%) and Bihar (68%).
India’s school meal programme aims to improve enrolment and attendance in school, make Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (universal elementary education) a success and improve the nutritional intake of children studying in state schools. With a huge mandate, this scheme has attracted an ever-bigger budget every year. For 2014-15, it has been allocated ₹ 13,215 crore, nearly 30% more than what it was getting some three years back.
An HRD ministry official said success of the scheme will depend on the sincerity of states who are equal partners in the implementation process. The HRD ministry is in touch with states for improving implementation.
“Emergency medical plan is essential for saving precious lives of the children during any untoward incidents. The state governments have already been requested...to develop the emergency medical plan. Government of Odisha has already prepared this plan. But many states are yet to prepare the plan," said an HRD ministry note. It said that the ministry will ask all states to develop plans by the end of 2014.
Taking note of the situation, the HRD ministry in a recent meeting decided to carry out a social audit in at least nine states, including Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, soon to improve monitoring.
“Social audit is an important tool for monitoring the scheme through community participation. Govt. of Andhra Pradesh has already undertaken social audit in two districts viz. Khammam and Chittoor," the ministry note said.
A Bihar government official, who asked not to be named, said that there is huge pressure to improve attendance records because of the Right to Education Act. Giving a very rough estimate, the official said that only about 250 out of 400 students in a school would turn up. He attributed the non-attendance to “socio-economic conditions, quality of food, teaching standards in government schools, and poor infrastructure and lack of cleanliness in schools".
The official, however, denied more students were taking ill due to poor mid-day meals. “These are more rumour than fact," this official said.
Rama Ramachandran, director of the Nutrition Foundation of India, who is also a member of an expert committee on midday meals set up by the HRD ministry said: “Have we made a good start, the answer is yes; have we reached perfection? There is a long way to go."
Yamini Aiyar, director of Accountability Initiative, a part of the Centre for Policy Research, said that implementation is a major issue with mid-day meals but added that there are states where implementation is better. “Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh are doing much better. In Chhattisgarh, women self-help groups are involved in the scheme leading to better outcome. Other states can learn from them," she said
Hope my answer helps you.
Please mark me as Brainliest.
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