TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Following increasing demands from school PTAs for change in the mid day meal menu, preferably with processed food, fruits and so on, the education department is proposing to place this matter before the centrally appointed monitoring committee, which deputes inspection teams to the State.
Director of Education Anil Powar Monday said that feedback which has come from schools is for food items which do not fit within the guidelines of the central MDMS scheme.
“The schools are asking for inclusion of food items which are not applicable to the scheme,” Powar said pointing out that the preference of food items, under the MDMS here in Goa, now appears to be different from those in the rest of the country.
“We will have to put this point across to the committee when it deputes it consultancy agency for an inspection to the State,” Powar said disclosing that the inspection team gives a surprise visit to the State and randomly conducts inspections at schools, meets school heads and others associated with the implementation of the scheme.
The education department, Powar said, will also have to ready itself with a presentation on the implementation of the scheme for the year and incidents reportedly of the meals which affected some children will also have to be included.
Powar said that it is very difficult to answer queries even today as to how and why things went wrong with the meals in the case of the last two incidents.
The education department points out that Goa being a small State the MDMS implementation is slightly different from the other States in the country where actual meals are served to students who spend the whole day in school.
“However even though our food portions are smaller in quantity than in comparison to other States in India the nutritional value is as per the prescribed guidelines,” Powar said.
The education director said that during the last couple of years the inspection teams have not found any flaws in the implementation of the scheme and have expressed satisfaction over the nutritional value of the food served to children, except for the quantity.
It is learnt that school managements have not rejected the MDMS but have demanded a change in the menu so as to ensure that there is no wastage.
Presently various options are being explored for effective implementation of the MDMS, education department officials say, adding that a workable scheme may be implemented only next year.
Until then schools will have to work with Self Help Groups in implementing the mid day meal scheme and wait to see if the monitoring committee is willing to accept recommendations from the PTAs for changes in the menu with some amendment to the scheme to include the demands from Goa.
