BENGALURU: Many schools in the city have decided to ban Nestle’s Maggi noodles either temporarily or permanently in the interest of their students’ health.
However, some schools are waiting for a directive from the State government to enforce the ban.
Delhi Public School and several others that are members of the Karnataka Associated Managements of English Medium Schools (KAMS) have planned to refrain from allowing Maggi in their schools until a proper guidance from the state government is issued.
Mansoor Ali Khan, member, board of management, Delhi Public School, told Express that DPS has planned to review all junk food including Maggi and other cup noodles.
“Even though we are yet to send a circular, we are discouraging children and parents from carrying Maggi or junk food to school,” said D Shashikumar, general secretary of KAMS.
Some schools are yet to take a decision on banning Maggi. “For now, we haven’t taken any action. But we will look into this issue and work something out,” said Sharmila Choudhary, Vice Principal, National Public School (CMR).
Various city schools including Vidyaniketan School, Hebbal, and Little Flower Public School, Banashankari, have been discouraging junk food for years now.
“It has been around five years since we refused to let children carry fast foods to schools. In every orientation programme, we ask parents not to support junk food and if we find children carrying fast food, their tiffin boxes are taken and healthy food is ordered for them,” said B Gayethri Devi, principal, Little Flower Public School.
C V Nagaraj of Gopalan International School told Express that they have been discouraging parents and students in having fast food or ‘two-minute products’.
“We have had a policy to avoid fast food from the past 7-8 years. Now with the controversy around Maggi, there is all the more reason to enforce this policy strictly,” he added.
