Parents discontent over inferior midday meals served in schools

Vijayawada: Around 40 per cent of

parents

said that the midday meals served at government schools are substandard. Dissatisfaction over the implementation of the

midday meal

scheme is mostly seen in Vizianagaram and two Godavari districts of the state, revealed the latest official survey done by the Real Time Governance Standee (RTGS).

The survey also revealed that around 19 per cent parents rued about the insufficient quantity of food served to the students. Other 19 per cent of the parents expressed dissatisfaction over the midday meal staff’s rude behaviour with the students.

The overall satisfaction level over the implementation of the scheme declined by 0.41 per cent from December to January, according to the survey. The officials concerned said that they are taking steps like establishing district level monitoring systems and centralized supply of food material to improve the situation.

However, three districts in the state, Srikakulam, Nellore and Kurnool have shown improvement in the satisfaction levels, which have declined in rest of the 10 districts. Anantapur district showed the least satisfaction level of 62.76 per cent, while the maximum 71.95 per cent of parents in Krishna district expressed satisfaction over the scheme.

The officials of the school education department said during the recent collectors’ conference that they have identified four major causes for the ineffective implementation of the scheme. Low honorarium for the cook-cum-helpers, resentment among the cooks over setting up centralised kitchens, poor infrastructure in the kitchens and delay in the release of bills are responsible for the poor implementation of the scheme, said the officials.

In a move to bring a significant improvement in the situation, Rs 483.98 crore- Rs.290.39 crore central share and Rs 193.59 crore state share- has been sanctioned for the scheme. Besides, over 16,000 new kitchen-cum-store houses have been approved for the schools, said the officials.

Stating that more elaborate survey questionnaire is needed to understand the exact issues at the ground level in implementation of the scheme, the officials said that a close monitoring system is being set up for the scheme.

In addition, the officials said that the centralised supply of oil and dal to schools will ensure the quality of the midday meal and workshops are being held at all field functionaries, including cook-cum-helpers, on hygienic conditions that should be maintained in the kitchens.