The\ngovernment of India launched its flagship midday meal scheme program in 1995.\nIt aims to eradicate malnutrition and raise the nutritional standards amongst\nschool-age children. They provide them with free lunches in the\ngovernment-aided school. It is one of its largest kind in the world that\nimpacts around 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education\nGuarantee Scheme centres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nworsening conditions of malnourishment amongst school children make it pivotal\nfor us to know the importance of invigorating such schemes in our country.\nIndia is home to around 195 million undernourished people and shares a quarter\nof the global hunger burden. Boosting nutrition and controlling stunted growth\nis one of the biggest challenges of this developing country. The National\nFamily Health Survey (NFHS)-4 reports that India has an objectional high level\nof stunted growth amongst children. In 2015-16, 35.4% of children were\nunderweight. According to the World\nBank, a 1% loss in adult height due to childhood stunting leads to a 1.4% loss\nin economic productivity. The future of the Indian economy can be in jeopardy\nif we don’t fix these problems of stunted growth and increased malnourishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Midday\nmeals are not monitored in an effective manner amongst various states. Uttar\nPradesh recently encountered a case in September 2019 where students of a\ngovernment school were eating only Roti and salt whereas they should be eating\nrice, roti, pulses and vegetables as a part of their detailed menu. There is a charge\nagainst the journalist who shot the video for defaming the government. But such\nvideos are an eye-opener for the entire nation who is unaware of these\nmishappenings. The government then announced to conduct a quality audit of food\nserved in its schools, only after the incident gained massive popularity.\nAnother case of ShahJahanpur was in August 2019 where 26 students suffered from\nsevere stomach pain after eating Khichdi and milk in their midday meal. The\nchildren who were of below 12 years of age got admitted to the Community Health\nCentre (CHC). It was again a case of food poisoning. Hence, strict monitoring\nof government schools took place in that area. Another incident of Warangal was\non June 2019 when 12 children at an Anganwadi centre got hospitalised. There\nwas a dead lizard found in the rice bowl. They immediately complained of nausea\nand showed symptoms of food poisoning. Although the children were out of\ndanger, it reflects the lack of proper surveillance in these schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nEven though such incidents prevail almost everywhere, very few have caught the\nattention of media. The government orders supervisions and audits of food\nquality control only when these incidents become of national importance.\nConducting stringent checks at regular intervals can reduce the frequency of\nthese incidents. An establishment of Accountability amongst the local level\ngovernment bodies is essential. They should observe and check the progress of\nthe implementation of the scheme. There should be a constant update even of the\ndifficulties faced by the cooks and the school officials. Lack of cooking sheds\nand drinking water hinder the smooth process of serving meals. A rigorous check\nof hygiene is also fundamental. Low maintenance of hygiene can make children\nsusceptible to illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\nlarge proportion of children start school on an empty stomach. Without a midday\nmeal, they lose interest in studying and go back home. The midday meals not\nonly bolster the nourishment of children in these government schools but also\nhelp increase the student enrolment ratio. It is a huge incentive for the\nhapless parents to send their children to school so that they don’t sleep\nhungry. The children themselves look forward to eating with other children at\nnoon. It makes them feel ease at school. Education too finds its way through\nthese incentives. Thus, the entire nation can then witness the learning\noutcomes through such schemes. Social and private benefits that enhance the\ncommunity is contingent on education. Midday meals mollify the short term\nhunger and revive concentration, health and nutritional status. All these lead\nto low absenteeism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Midday\nmeals are a quantum leap in the forward direction. They can foster a sense of\nsocial equality among school-children. It is the early years of primary school\nthat are vital in children’s lives. It is when their understanding of social\nidentity take shape. It also promotes gender equity and reduces the gender gap\nin school participation. States like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have witnessed\na surfeit in female school participation. To sit and eat together at school,\nirrespective of caste is a strong way to defy the age-old prejudices. A survey\nby the Centre for Equity Studies revealed that open caste discrimination is not\nvery common in context to midday meals. However, some discrimination towards\nthe lower caste community occurred in states like Rajasthan with Dalit\nchildren. They were asked to eat and drink separately. There are times when\neven a Dalit cook is not allowed to cook. There are upper-caste parents also\nwho are sceptical of the scheme, and few actively oppose it. They send separate\nlunch for their children and resist them sharing it with the lower castes.\nSince midday meals improve school-going, it can reduce future inequalities.\nLack of education is a major source of economic disadvantage and social\nmarginalisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Midday\nmeals’ problems need permanent political priority and financial allocation.\nThey are also a healthy blow to the existing inequalities of class, gender and\ncaste. Having said this, India still has a long way to go in realising the full\npotential of midday meals. It should not miss out on this opportunity of\nbecoming more economically and socially advanced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The worsening conditions of malnourishment amongst school children make it pivotal for us to know the importance of invigorating such schemes in our country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":64087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3,92],"tags":[131,211,210],"class_list":["post-64086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcare","category-indian-economy","category-social","tag-global-hunger-index","tag-malnutrition","tag-midday-meal-scheme"],"yoast_head":"\n