Education dept cites logistics for not providing cooked mid-day meals at Delhi schools – Education News
Schools in Delhi have been shuttling between opening and closing for primary and middle school children, but reintroducing cooked mid-day meals is not on the cards for now. Last month, the Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education and Literacy had written to states and union territories, advising them to “resume provision of hot cooked meals to eligible students attending schools by adhering to prevalent Covid-appropriate protocols and social distancing norms as prescribed by the competent authority”.
With regard to cooked meals, the Delhi government had begun distribution of dry ration — amounting to 145 grams per day for children up to class 5 and 217 grams per day for classes 6 to 8 — last December. They were given ration for a period of 6 months from July to December 2020, and monthly starting from this January. Though physical classes have been off and on for children of eligible grades since November 1, cooked mid-day meals are not likely to resume soon with the education department citing a logistical challenge.
“We will stick to distributing dry ration for the time being. Even when schools are open, only 50% of the children are allowed to come on a given day to maintain Covid protocol. Re-introducing cooked meals in schools poses the challenge of how to cater to students who are not coming to school on the given day. Juggling both ration distribution and cooked meals does not seem feasible. Ration distribution can reach more children for now,” said a senior government official.
For more Education News – Click here
71,861 total views
