Amid the continued uncertainty over the prospects of reopening of schools due to the persistent threat from coronavirus, School Education authorities have initiated urgent measures to ensure proper maintenance of rice earlier stocked in various State-run schools for mid-day meal programme at the fag end of the last academic year.
The coronavirus induced lockdown has brought the mid-day meal (MDM) programme to a sudden halt in March this year.
This has led to a precarious situation depriving a little over 89,000 students of as many as 1,294 government and aided schools in the district of the free lunch facility, albeit temporarily.
The prevailing uncertainty has triggered demands from various students’ unions for implementation of alternative measures to ensure home delivery of mid-day meal in adherence to the safety precautions till the reopening of schools.
In the meantime, the authorities have turned focus on proper maintenance of the huge quantity of raw rice that was stocked in several State-run schools prior to the lockdown in March.
The staff members concerned have been issued instructions to take appropriate natural pest control measures like keeping neem leaves at the storage points and keep the rice stocks safe from insect attacks.
PDS use?
Sources said that the State government is mulling handing over the rice stocked in schools to the Civil Supplies Department for immediate use under the public distribution system and then arrange the same quantity for the mid-day meal programme as and when the schools are reopened in the new academic year 2020-2021.
When contacted, District Educational Officer (DEO) Madanmohan told The Hindu that adequate precautionary measures have been taken so far to keep rice stocks in all schools in better condition and free of all kinds of insect attacks.
The data of exact quantity of rice of the mid-day meal programme presently available in the State-run schools in the entire district is being compiled to send a detailed report to the Civil Supplies Department in a few days, the DEO said.
