Bhubaneswar: Though the wait for classes on campus has ended, students of government schools in the state may have to wait a little longer for midday meals.
The physical classes resumed on February 28, but teachers said they are still seeing thin attendance in the rural and interior pockets of the state, which is why midday meals are not being served yet.
Sources said though children are being provided with either dry ration or money in their bank accounts, that hardly serves the purpose as they do not get the nutrition they need.
“Before Covid struck, midday meals used to draw the children to schools. This, in turn, used to fulfil their nutritional requirements. Since March 2020, they have been deprived of this facility. Though the government has been providing them with rice as dry ration and depositing money into their accounts, it gets distributed in the family. Children not getting midday meals is a gross violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act,” Anil Pradhan, an RTE campaigner, said.
Sukanti Hembram, a 35-year-old-widow, who works as a domestic help to feed her family of three, said, “Midday meals used to be a huge relief for me. But after the pandemic forced the schools to shut down in March 2020, I have been facing difficulties in arranging even for a square meal for my kids. I was so happy when the schools finally reopened and was hoping that my children will get at least one proper meal a day. But that didn’t happen. The amount we receive in lieu of the midday meal gets spent on several other things in a poor household like our’s.”
Around 47 lakh students (Classes I to VIII) studying in 62,889 schools are the beneficiaries of the midday meal scheme. In the pre-Covid period, these schools used to follow a weekly menu. It would comprise rice served with dalma (pulses cooked with vegetables), soya bean curry and egg curry on alternative days. In the wake of Covid-19, primary and upper primary schools remained closed for two years and children were provided with dry ration meal.
The physical classes resumed on February 28, but teachers said they are still seeing thin attendance in the rural and interior pockets of the state, which is why midday meals are not being served yet.
Sources said though children are being provided with either dry ration or money in their bank accounts, that hardly serves the purpose as they do not get the nutrition they need.
“Before Covid struck, midday meals used to draw the children to schools. This, in turn, used to fulfil their nutritional requirements. Since March 2020, they have been deprived of this facility. Though the government has been providing them with rice as dry ration and depositing money into their accounts, it gets distributed in the family. Children not getting midday meals is a gross violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act,” Anil Pradhan, an RTE campaigner, said.
Sukanti Hembram, a 35-year-old-widow, who works as a domestic help to feed her family of three, said, “Midday meals used to be a huge relief for me. But after the pandemic forced the schools to shut down in March 2020, I have been facing difficulties in arranging even for a square meal for my kids. I was so happy when the schools finally reopened and was hoping that my children will get at least one proper meal a day. But that didn’t happen. The amount we receive in lieu of the midday meal gets spent on several other things in a poor household like our’s.”
Around 47 lakh students (Classes I to VIII) studying in 62,889 schools are the beneficiaries of the midday meal scheme. In the pre-Covid period, these schools used to follow a weekly menu. It would comprise rice served with dalma (pulses cooked with vegetables), soya bean curry and egg curry on alternative days. In the wake of Covid-19, primary and upper primary schools remained closed for two years and children were provided with dry ration meal.