Updating menu is not enough, allocation has to be increased accordingly

The government program to provide midday meals to children is being implemented in many states. No amount of knowledge or philosophy will enter the head of a hungry person. Hunger cannot be satisfied by reciting a poem, one has to eat food for it. Hunger affects everyone. Some people have the means to satisfy it, some have less, and some have a lot. In any case, only when hunger is satisfied can the functions of the senses and intellect function normally. The arrangement to provide midday meals in schools was started in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s. Later, all states implemented it on the orders of the Supreme Court.

There were two reasons for implementing this in the early days. First, the poor used to withdraw their children from school at an early age and assign them to other jobs or help their parents in their jobs. Due to this, the number of children in government schools decreased significantly. Second, it was common for children who brought their lunch and children who could not bring food due to poverty to study in the same school. A child who drinks tap water for lunch cannot be blamed if he does not pay attention to what is being taught in class. The government started the free lunch program in this situation to increase school attendance and avoid children sitting in class hungry.

The Kerala Education Department has revised the menu of the free midday meal scheme up to class VIII in line with modern food habits. Till now, only rice and curry were provided. From now on, egg fried rice, lemon rice, veg biryani and micro greens can be given for lunch once or twice a month. Chammanthi with mint, ginger, gooseberry and green mango can also be given. Ragi kozhukattai, Ela ada, Poha and Payasam should also be considered once a week. There is no doubt that any child who sees this menu will feel a special interest in going to school. The question is, can schools provide everything as mentioned? There is no big cost to revise the menu magnificently. However, if the amount of food allocation for each child is increased accordingly, the cost to the Education Department will increase.

The allocation per child in LP class is Rs. 6.78 and Rs. 10.17 from UP. The menu has been revised without increasing a single paisa to this. This will make the children themselves say, 'What a great reform that will never happen'. This is because it will cost a lot to implement the menu announced by the government. Education Minister V. Sivankutty says that there will be no crisis as local bodies, alumni and the general public are providing assistance. There are already complaints that the money for midday meals is not being allocated correctly. There was a situation where the cooks did not receive their salaries on time and they had to stop work and even go on strike. Supplyco is also hesitant to provide rice to the education department because they are not paid correctly. Therefore, the education department should increase the allocation and fix a time schedule for providing it correctly so that this midday meal scheme can run smoothly.