Thiruvananthapuram: The noon-meal scheme in schools across Kerala continues to be popular despite paucity of funds allotted by the government. Often, the school authorities, including the head teacher and colleagues pay from their pocket to buy vegetables and groceries. The fund crunch is so acute that a head teacher has written to the authorities narrating his plight as vendors turn up at his home seeking payment for vegetables and other supplies for the mid-day meals at school.
"Mid-day meals at my school will be stopped from Thursday. Sir, just because I'm the head teacher I have to live in fear of lenders," wrote J P Anish, the headmaster of Vidyadhiraja Lower Primary School at Ettamkallu in Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Anish's narrated his plight to Nedumangad educational sub-district officer and noon meal superintendent. He also attached the receipt of the Rs 2 lakh loan taken from the Karakulam Co-operative Bank at an interest of 11.50%.
In the letter, the headmaster pointed out that there are 607 students in the school and that the mid-day meal has never been disrupted before. However, the school has not received the amount from the government for three months, according to the letter.
Anish's school is eligible for government funds as it is categorised as an 'aided school'.
The mid-day meal scheme
Free lunch is provided for the nearly 30 lakh students up to Class 8 in the state, under the mid-day meal scheme. The government allowance is Rs 8 per child for schools with 150 students per day and Rs 7 per child for schools up to 500 students per day. Each child is given an egg once a week and milk twice a week. An egg alone costs Rs 5, while the maximum government allowance is Rs 8.
As per the directions from the Education Department, the noon meal for students must include dishes cooked using vegetables. It is mandatory that two dishes must be served using the lentils/pulses and vegetables recommended by the Department. A child should be served 150 ml of milk twice a week and an egg once every week. On days that eggs and milk are served to the children, the head teachers are to find funds for the other dishes.
As firewood stoves must not be used in schools, LPG stoves are being used for cooking. The steep rise in the price of LPG cylinders has also left the teachers in charge of the noon meal scheme in a lurch.
Each child is allotted Rs 40 per week on an average weekly for the noon-meal scheme. This includes every expense incurred except that on rice and this is grossly insufficient.