Parents express anger over ‘midday meal irregularities’ in Odisha school

Tension erupted at Junapani Government Upper Primary School under Khariar block in Nuapada district on Thursday over alleged irregularities in the distribution of the midday meal. 

As per the allegations by the parents and students, many children at the school had not received their midday meal by 3 pm.

While students from Classes I to III were reportedly served midday meals, those from Classes IV to VIII were left waiting without food, sparking strong dissatisfaction among parents. 

Complaints also emerged regarding the absence of the headmaster at the school until 2 PM, further aggravating the situation.

According to school committee members, parents, and students, such mismanagement has become a daily occurrence. They claimed that the headmaster comes to school at his convenience and often assigns duties to other teachers, which are not being properly executed.

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"We are not served our midday meals on a regular basis. The headmaster doesn't even come to the school regularly," said a student at the school.

"The headmaster was absent from the school until 2 PM. Some of the students were not served the midday meal even by 3 pm. Money is provided. There should be proper facilities for the students," said Indumati Jena, a guardian.

In response to the allegations, the headmaster stated that he had delegated the responsibility to another teacher, and the delay was due to negligence on that teacher’s part.

No official response has yet been received from higher authorities regarding the matter.

"I was on leave in the first half. As there was a shortage of vegetables, I had to buy vegetables. I had delegated the responsibility to another teacher. The delay occurred due to his negligence," said Sadashib Mohapatra, headmaster of the school.