The Odisha government has directed all the District Education Officers (DEO) to serve mid-day meals (MDM) to all the students from the first day of the reopening of schools after the summer vacation.
In a letter to all the DEOs, the School and Mass Education Department directed all the schools to serve MDM to every child (6 to 14 years) attending school from Class 1 to 8th from June 18, 2024.
“Mid-Day meal is the right of every child. So, no child shall be deprived of his/her right because of unpreparedness on the part of the school management authorities/central kitchen agencies. Therefore, all sorts of preparedness and precautions are to be taken beforehand to serve MDM from the first day of reopening of schools,” the letter read.
The letter further read, “Since during the vacation, the unutilized MDM rice, oil, condiments, dal, soya chunk and other materials would have been infected, damaged or become inedible, so adequate precautions are to be taken to check the edibility of the available ingredients before handing over the same to cook-cum helpers.”
“It may be strictly ensured that the message of the Edibility Test is carried out in every school by the HM to avoid any mishap or food poisoning. The cooking place should be clean. The safety protocol with regards to CCH, drinking water and MDM ingredients should be strictly followed," the letter added.