The five-month suspension of supply of foodgrains to nearly 48 lakh students of government primary and secondary schools under the Mid-day Meals Scheme across Karnataka from June onwards came at a time when studies were already pointing at stunted growth among Indian children, clouding their prospects of becoming fit and productive adults in the future.
Just before the pandemic struck, an analysis by the Karnataka Knowledge Commission (KKC) found that up to 40 per cent of children in nine districts of Ballari, Vijayapura, Bidar, Davanagere, Kalaburagi, Bagalkot, Haveri, Koppal and Yadgir suffered stunted growth. Across Karnataka, 36.2 per cent of children aged 0-59 months were found to be stunted because of malnutrition.
The suspension of supplies also came at a time when proper nutrition was considered crucial to boost the children’s immunity against Covid-19. A United Nations World Food Programme’s analysis with the Ministry of Statistics on food and nutrition security in mid-2019 indicated that up to 31.4 per cent of Indian children could be stunted due to malnutrition by 2022. While continuing the supplies to students was crucial, the pandemic ironically halted the process due to logistics and fears of infection spread.
Though schools remained closed from March-end onwards, the state government changed tact from cooked meals (as children stopped coming to school) to supplying foodgrains at their doorsteps till May, before halting the process completely. Now, the state government has released Rs 449.84 crore to the primary and secondary education department to distribute backlog foodgrains for the period between June and October.
Though some hope lies with the resumption of supplies soon, the five-month break has been way to long for many families across the state. Suryakant Jamadar, whose son goes to the government high school in Neelkhed village of Kalaburagi-North taluk, said that though the supplies under the Mid-day Meal Scheme were suspended, the ration given under Anna Bhagya and by donors during the lockdown helped them to a certain extent. But now they have exhausted their stock.
When the foodgrain supply was stopped, the kids of daily wage labourers were the worst affected in Udupi district. Some migrant labourers had returned to their hometowns in Ballari, Koppal, Raichur and other districts in North Karnataka, while some were still in the vicinity of Malpe fisheries harbour staying in rented accommodation. On the one hand, they had no work, and therefore no income, while on the other, their children were deprived of foodgrain supplies.
A few parents from Koppal said some Good Samaritans helped their families by providing groceries for about a month, helping them tide over the bad days. Sunanda, who works as the main cook under the Mid-day Meal Scheme at Government High School, Malpe, told The New Sunday Express that though the preparation of mid-day meal was stopped at the school soon after the lockdown, they ensured each kid was supplied with 150 gm of rice, 30 gm of pulses, 75 ml of palm oil and 150 ml of milk every day.
Yet, children faced the problem in September as the stock supplied under scheme got over. “However, we are ready now to restart the preparation of mid-day meals. Once the government gives the green signal, the kitchen will be reopened,” she said. Mid-Day Meals Officer of Kalaburagi district Ramalingappa said rice is in sufficient quantity for distribution in the first phase of 53 days. “But we do not have red gram.
As per the present guidelines, we have to distribute 100 gm of rice and 60 gm of red gram to students of up to 5th standard per day and 150 gm of rice and 95 gm of red gram to students from 6th to 10th standard per day. We have submitted our requirement of red gram for the first 53 days and of both rice and red gram for the next 55 days. In all, around three lakh students were benefitting from Mid-day Meal Scheme in Kalaburagi district,” Ramalingappa said.
About 110 students, majority of whom are children of migrant labourers from Raichur district, at the Government Primary School at Baddihalli were affected. “Their parents lost jobs during the lockdown and some local philanthropists supplied mid-day meals on their own and also from the kitchen of Siddaganga Mutt,” said Headmaster Venkatappa. “Now, students keep coming enquiring about food to take home, but we have stock for only 30 per cent of them. So, we have not started distribution yet,” he informed.
Some distribution has already restarted a week ago at Kadashettihalli village in Gubbi taluk. “The children come with bags to collect the ration. Looking at them collecting 150 grams of rice, 20 grams of dal, 3-5 grams of edible oil per day I felt they are really in need of the ration,” says Kadashettihalli Sathish, the School Development Management Committee president.
The suspension of supplies has impacted many families in rural areas of Mysuru district, especially in remote villages of HD Kote, Hunsur, Periyapatna and Nanjangud taluks. It has forced many of the 2,09,334 children from 2,366 government and aided schools covered under Mid-day Meal Scheme to work alongside their parents. Many parents who have lost their jobs are forcing their children to take up odd jobs to support the family.
Mid-Day Meal in-charge officer of Mysuru district Lingarajayya said, “We are awaiting the commissioner’s order to distribute the ration under the mid-day meals scheme. We will distribute it in two stages, for 53 days in the first phase and 55 days in the second stage. Wherever a child or parent cannot collect the ration, the teacher or designated officer will go to their doorstep and deliver it,” he said. The Dharwad district education department has written to the state government to release good grains of 54 days for June and July. In the absence of midday meals, the department is giving foodgrains to 1.96 lakh students in the district. The Dharwad district committee of All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation has cautioned that delays in distributing foodgrains could make children suffer from acute malnutrition.
THE CONCERN
While the state is in consultation with officials and School Development Monitoring Committees on reopening of schools, a source privy to the proceedings said schools are unlikely to reopen till January, putting the education and nutritional aspects of children at stake. Teachers, too, expressed concerns over foodgrains reaching the children in right quantities at their homes even after supplies resume.
A government primary school teacher in Shivamogga said children used to have milk and freshly prepared meals at school, where foodgrains and vegetables were given in right quantities. After the pandemic, the government decided to deliver foodgrains to children. But with that stopped too, the nutritional aspects of children is a concern.
Now that the state government plans to resume supplies, health experts and educationists point to the need for eggs and milk to be part of the children’s diet, although these remain out of the state government’s mandate.Niranjanaradhya VP, Development Educationist, says if the government thinks about the nutritional aspects of children during the crisis, the only option is to provide concrete protein. “The quantity of dal is less, while wheat and rice are carbs. Government schoolchildren from marginalised communities happily eat boiled egg, but there is resistance from some parents (about eggs being in the diet),” he said.
(Inputs from: Pearl Maria D’Souza/Bengaluru; Ramkrishna Badseshi/Kalaburagi; Prakash Samaga/Udupi; Devaraja Hirehalli/Tumakuru; Arunkumar Huralimath/Hubballi; Karthik KK/Mysuru; Arpitha I/Shivamogga)