VIJAYAWADA: Just a day after taking reins of the State, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy named the midday meal scheme for government schools in the State YSR Akshaya Patra. In a review meeting with officials of the School Education Department and representatives of Akshaya Patra Foundation here on Friday, the Chief Minister decided to increase the honorarium for midday meal workers to Rs 3,000 from Rs 1,000, apart from christening the scheme.
Jagan instructed the officials to use good quality vegetables to maintain the food standards, cook the food in a hygienic environment and transport them to schools on time so that the children could get proper nutrition. Providing some relief to workers, he hiked honorarium paid to them by three times.
“As around 30 lakh students study in over 44,000 government schools, make sure that all basic amenities are provided to them and that they attend schools every day without fail. All government schools should wear the look of their corporate counterparts, and be able to compete with them in all aspects.
Clean toilets, proper furniture, areas for playing, painted walls and spacious classrooms need to be maintained regularly,” he told the officials. School Education’s Principal Secretary Adityanath Das, Commissioner K Sandhya Rani, Additional Secretary to CM Dhanunjay Reddy also participated in the review meeting.