BHUBANESWAR: After the pandemic gap of two years, the School and Mass Education department has decided to start serving mid-day meals (MDM) in schools again from next month. With Covid-19 cases on decline, schools for Classes I to VII had reopened on February 28.
The department released an SOP for cooking and serving of the noon meals besides administration of iron folic acid tablets on a weekly basis to students of Class I to VIII on Monday. It has asked the school management authorities and central kitchen agencies to prepare their facilities to cook noon meals before April along with carrying out an edibility test of MDM grocery that have remained unutilised due to closure of schools in the last two years.
If found not worthy of consumption, the stocks should be verified by the headmaster and then buried. Schools had stopped serving MDM to students on March 13, 2020 following the outbreak of coronavirus.
The cook-cum-helpers engaged in MDM preparation have to follow Covid guidelines.The SOP also stated that distribution of cooked meals to school children needs to be done in a staggered manner (from students of smaller classes to those of higher grades) over a couple of hours to adhere to the social distancing norms.
The department has also decided to broaden the scope of school management committees and parents teachers associations by asking them to supervise the cooking and serving of MDM for ensuring adherence to Covid protocols amongst teachers, cooks or women SHGs engaged in cooking and school children.
Similar guidelines have also been issued for central kitchen agencies or NGOs that are engaged in the MDM process. Currently, Akshaya Patra Foundation, Maana Trust, Damodar Jew Sevayatan, Mahila Sahayika Sangha, People’s Forum and Bagdanga Paschim Gheri Bishalaxmi Club are engaged in cooking and delivering MDM at schools.
The weekly Iron Folic Acid (IFA) Supplementations (WIFS) programme in schools will also be resumed next month. The SOP mentioned that children should be given IFA tablets every Monday in their respective classrooms after having noon meals.