What is the midday meal programme? How has it helped in promoting equality? Give any
one suitable example.
Answers
Explanation:
The mid-day meal system promotes equality because it help to reduce caste prijudice as both upper and lower caste students use to eat meal together and in few places dalit women are appointed to cook food.
Government provided equal right to all children to avail this facility, abolishing inequality.
The midday meal scheme: One of the important schemes that the government has introduced is the midday meal scheme. In this scheme, all children in all government elementary schools are provided with cooked lunch. Tamil Nadu was the first state to start this scheme, in 2001, and later all state governments began this on the instructions of the Supreme Court.
Benefits of Midday Meal Scheme
1)Increased attendance in schools: More and more students have started enrolling and attending school because of this scheme. Also previously the students used to go home for lunch and not return post lunch. With this scheme, students need not go home for the same and attend the school in an uninterrupted manner.
2)Uninterrupted work for mothers: Previously the mothers had to leave their work and attend to/ feed their kids when they came home for lunch but after this scheme was implemented there is no need for them to do so.
3)Reduction in caste prejudices: Children from all castes and classes sit together and eat their meal, and in many cases dalit women are employed to cook the meal. This has helped in reducing caste prejudices to some extent.
4)Better concentration in studies: When the poor students are not hungry, they can concentrate and study better in the school.
difference in the kind of schools that rich children and poor children attend. What is required is a change in mindset of the people where nobody feels that the other person is inferior to him.
According to Shri B.R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution, "Nothing is more disgraceful for a brave man than to live a life devoid of self-respect