Bhubaneswar: A proposal to revise the cost of Mid Day Meals (MDM) for school students was presented in the inaugural ceremony of a two-day workshop attended by representatives of 18 states including Odisha in Bhubaneswar today.
Experts have been demanding a hike in cost of MDM citing that while a cup of tea is available for Rs 5 in the market, the cost of MDM per primary school student is Rs 4.58. The cost of MDM for Upper Primary school students is a bit higher at Rs 6.83 per child.
The aim of the MDM programme is to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance of students in schools and simultaneously improve their nutritional levels. But quality of food at these rates is not enough to get them adequate nutrition, informed sources.
Therefore representatives of 18 States including Odisha stressed on improvement of the quality of MDM.
The honorarium for cooks and helpers preparing the MDM is also much lower than the income of any unskilled labourer. So a salary hike to Rs 2,000 has been proposed.
“The cost is very less. We are bound to provide it as per government instructions. Good quality food can be provided if the cost is hiked,” said a teacher Nanda Kishore Sabat.
“The food we currently provide to the children is too less. So we have proposed to the Government of India (GoI) that the norms should be revised. The remuneration of cooks and helpers is Rs 1,000 now. The State government will provide its share after the salaries are revised by the GoI. So the call has to be taken by the Union government,” said Odisha School and Mass Education secretary PK Mohapatra.
Inclusion of Class IX and X students in the MDM programme has also been demanded. Besides, the departmental minister also demanded that MDM facilities should be extended to all 6,346 private schools, Saraswati Sishu Mandirs and Vivekananda School.
“If the central government agrees it can cover all the schools and we have given the proposal,” said Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra.
Moreover, proposals like providing plates for MDM to all school students from the coming academic year and setting up of kitchen gardens within the school premises were tabled during the workshop.
It is worthwhile to mention that, while Centre bears 60 per cent cost of MDM the rest 40 percent is borne by the States.