Mahoba midday meal row: 1 litre milk mixed in bucket full of water in UP school; head teacher suspended

LUCKNOW: A head teacher of a govt primary school in UP's Mahoba was suspended for serving one litre milk mixed into a bucket full of water in their midday meal.

After the video of the incident went viral on Friday, the education department swung into action and suspended the school's head teacher Monika Soni, who is responsible for the midday meal.


In the viral clip, the cook at the primary school in Dikhwaha in Mahoba is seen mixing two packets of milk, 0.5 litre each, in a bucket full of water. Later, the same milk was allegedly distributed to the children.

Basic shiksha adhikari, Mahoba, Rahul Mishra, said the incident took place on Wednesday. "An inquiry by the block education officer found that children were given the same milk which was mixed with water. We have suspended the head teacher and a detailed probe is underway," Mishra said.

"If irregularities are found in the probe, stern action will be taken against those responsible," Mishra added.

This is not the first incident about irregularities in midday meals. In Oct 2021, five litres of water was mixed with two litres of milk at a govt school in Meerut. In Nov 2019, 1 litre of milk was mixed into a bucket of water and distributed to 81 children at a govt school in Sonbhadra. In Aug 2019, a viral video showed a woman distributing rotis and salt to children as a midday meal at a primary school in Mirzapur.

The govt's midday meal scheme, now known as PM Poshan, aims to improve the nutritional levels of schoolchildren in state-run schools.