BHUBANESWAR : Spiraling prices of pulses and eggs have made it challenging for schools to ensure nutrition in the mid-day meals (MDM) for students. Teachers and headmasters entrusted with handling MDM are finding it increasingly difficult to provide the meals as per the norms mandated by government under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) scheme of the Ministry of Education.
As per the PM-POSHAN (Odisha) database, cooked meals are currently being provided to 45 lakh students in 50,485 primary and upper primary schools in the state. Students are served rice with ‘dalma’ on Mondays and Thursdays, soya bean curry on Tuesdays and Fridays and egg curry on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The scheme says a primary student (Class I to VIII) has to be served 25 gm of dal and it is 30 gm in case of upper primary student (Class VI to VIII). When it comes to soya beans, it is 12 gm for a primary student and 25 gm for upper primary student. One egg is served to a student. The MDM expenditure is Rs 5.90 for a primary student and Rs 8.82 for an upper primary student. The last revision of the meal cost was carried out in October 2022.
While vegetable costs have remained a concern, retail prices for harada or arhar dal have since last year risen to Rs 200 per kg from Rs 120-Rs 130 per kg last year. An egg that was available at Rs 5 per piece (wholesale rate) last year is now being sold at `8. The existing revised MDM cost chart provided by the government puts the egg cost at Rs 5 a piece.
Headmistress of Adhaghai Project primary school Swarnalata Mohapatra manages a school of 40 students. “Even if you consider 25 grams of dal for a student, the price comes to Rs 5 per student just to meet the dal cost if one takes the existing price into consideration. Then there are vegetables, oil, firewood and condiments. How does one manage with Rs 5.90 a meal for a primary student,” she questioned.
The All Utkal Primary Teachers Association, Odisha, has recently submitted a letter to the state government to hike the MDM cost to at least Rs 20-Rs 25 per child. General secretary of the association Charulata Mohapatra said in a bid to manage the expense, headmasters and teachers are forced to buy inferior quality commodities at low prices, thereby compromising on the nutritional aspect of mid-day meals.
State nodal officer of PM-POSHAN Raghuram R Iyer said they will raise the issue of MDM cost with the Ministry of Education in the next project approval board meeting which is scheduled this month.
IN DIRE STRAITS
45 lakh students in 50,485 primary and UP schools of state are being provided MDM
MDM expenditure is Rs 5.90 for a primary student and Rs 8.82 for an upper primary student
Price of Arhar dal increased to Rs 200 per kg from Rs 120-Rs 130 per kg since last year
To manage expenses, headmasters, teachers are being forced to buy inferior quality commodities
All Utkal Primary Teachers Association, Odisha has appealed the state govt to hike MDM cost to `20-`25 per child