We need to ask this question because the Indian government has allotted lots of funds to education sector but big amount of those funds is always on the way to reach needy people. Midway meal means a meal which is not reached to its destination, a poor child. Well prepared & planned idea is not being executed well. Few corrupt politicians, middlemen and irresponsible headmasters are making midday meal a midway meal.
Last time, Indian government allotted Rs.10,380 crores for MDM (Mid Day Meal) scheme and now, the government has allotted Rs.11,937 crores for the MDM scheme in 2012-2013. The fund for MDM scheme is raised by 90% from central government & 10% from NER states and in other states fund is raised by 75% from central government & 25% from state government. Our Indian government precisely plans figures in allocation of funds but the real fact is that those funds are not being used effectively. 12 crore children are up to upper primary level in 12.65 lakh government schools across India. It means around 12 crore children are taking advantages of MDM scheme. Now, the question arises that will HRD ministry use additional funds for secondary school level? Because unavailability of midday meal in secondary level discourages the students and school drop out ratio may rise. As a part of educational systems, responsible people must be aware with all the details of MDM scheme then only school committees or principals can achieve benefits out of this scheme. The government has launched website of this scheme, www.mdm.nic.in . With the purpose of awareness and solving problems, CM of Bihar, Mr. Nitish Kumar launched IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) and website (dopahar.org) hence people can come to know about all schemes they are eligible for and they can also easily sort out their local problems related to the midday meal scheme. This scheme also encourages all mothers of children to visit the school while midday meal is being cooked & served hence they can be sure that MDM scheme is running effectively. If something seems fishy while cooking or delivering a meal or in whole scheme then they can immediately take action against unethical acts. This initiative by MDM scheme is known as “Mothers Watch”. This community participation idea as a “Mothers Watch” doesn’t work practically because it is hard for those mothers, who are working for daily wages, to take a leave from laboring and come to watch their children.
I learned in my school time that to share and then eat is what the culture says, to eat alone is the nature of any individual and to eat others’ part is perversion. Midday Meal Scheme tells us to share food and then to eat together exactly like our culture says. That’s why this scheme is very beneficial and helpful practically and traditionally. But few reports published in newspapers show that this culture is absent in a few villages of Karnataka, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat. These villages have problems of caste discrimination, gender discrimination and untouchability while implementing MDM scheme. Students from upper class do not share a midday meal with other students. Students from the minority community and scheduled caste are being made to sit separately for a midday meal and this is happening just because teachers allowed so. In few villages, upper caste children do not eat food prepared and made by lower caste cooks. In urban areas of Jaisalmer, upper caste students refuse to eat food with Dalit students, it shows that even small children also have the worst mentality to keep themselves away from the lower caste students. Undoubtedly, that kind of mentality has to be inculcated by their parents. Gender discrimination has also been seen in villages. Girls are made to serve the midday meals to boys. As all of this is not enough, there is an untouchability. It’s like if caste discrimination is not there then there is an untouchability. Dalit children are being served from a distance and children of upper caste bring their own plates for a midday meal to avoid mix-up.
Now I share few incidents of those people who eat others’ food, we call it “Perversion”. In UP, CBI investigated that until 2010, food grain worth Rs.35,000 crore was sold in an open market with the connivance of government officials, politicians and middlemen. That foodgrain was meant to be given poor people through welfare schemes, one of them is “Midday Meal Scheme”. Recently in Baroda, students were beaten up by female school teachers because they raised their voice against delay in getting midday meals. The Midday Meal Scheme will run effectively if teachers also support it. There are many villages where students have not been given midday meals for many months because school committee or teachers or district officers sell out those ready meals in outside. It is really shame for our country that nurturers keep children away from nurturing them. Before 4 months in Ramgarh, many schools of this district were deprived of midday meals because the stock of rice was used up completely. And this problem decreased the attendance of students in schools. Our country’s rice production reached to a record high of 104.32 million tonnes in 2011-12 crop year though shortage of rice occurred in many villages of Ramgarh district. This unconventional shortage of rice makes us to doubt that civil workers or politicians or middlemen are selling out stock of rice which meant to be provided for MDM scheme. Sometimes I think these schemes for betterment are opportunities for scams because these schemes generate many scams. Recently in Bangalore, the worst incident came into the picture. Approximately 200 children were on the roadside for midday meals. Is it Midday meal or meal around wheel? Though it isn’t busy one road but even a few vehicles pass by then hygienic meals become unhygienic meals. Headmaster of that school thinks that if they serve meals in school then they will have to waste time in cleaning up those classrooms. But it is better to waste one hour in cleaning up than to eat at a roadside because children’s health and safety are priorities of MDM scheme. Before a month in Punjab, students of 15,000 schools were waiting for midday meals and Punjab government was yet to release Rs.45 crore for MDM scheme. Teachers continued the scheme by paying from their pockets but then they also stopped because they couldn’t see any hope. Students were excited that they would get midday meals because schools were reopened after vacations but it couldn’t happen.
Many times teachers take the initiative to run this incredible scheme but they also have to stop their help due to no support from state or central government. There are places where teachers are very enthusiastic to run this scheme effectively. In Jaipur, few government schools do not have cooks that’s why considering the importance of the scheme, teachers prepare food and when the meal is served then they wash utensils also. A teacher who performs more than what her duty says and that makes her the great teacher. In Bangalore, primary school teachers perform many roles in one school. They sweep the room before doing administration work then clean classrooms and courtyard after midday meals and they teach those students also. They must be teachers cum guards cum peons cum ayahs. We must salute these women who make this scheme effective without getting enough support from state or central government. Many NGOs are helping government to run MDM scheme successfully in all urban and rural areas of India. One of those NGO is “Akshaya Patra Foundation”, a world’s largest NGO, is also helping many government schools for this scheme. The midday meal scheme can never be implemented successfully if headmasters or teachers or other civil workers do not initiate to stop unethical tasks and until they don’t determine themselves to remove those corrupted people who are associated with this extraordinary scheme. In India, at many places, it has become compulsory that the civil worker has to be pointed out by someone otherwise he doesn’t perform his assigned duty. There are people who are running this scheme by taking money out of their pockets and others stopping scheme by filling money in their pockets. This imbalanced relationship between state government and school management committees hinder the success of the MDM scheme in India. This matter is so serious which can be understood by GHI report. It says that India scores 23.7 in GHI report which means improving child nutrition is of utmost urgency in most Indian states. The HUNGaMA report states that 42% children in India are underweight and PM calls it National Shame. The WB report says that MDM scheme is not coming out with desired results because the government has more attention to increase coverage than to improve the quality of service delivery rather than changing family based feeding & caring behavior.
All such reports always makes our country feel shame and how many times will we feel so? There has to be limit of feeling shame. A dream and idea of our country, Midday meal, is still on the way to reach completely into villages that’s why we have to say that Meal is at midway but soon, it will reach its destination. Let’s do not just hope but make a movement, let’s determine strongly and bring that midway meal for children.
Sources:
- Articles of Times of India
Healthy Prepared Meals Wow, cool post. I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real hard work to make a great article... but I put things off too much and never seem to get started. Thanks though.
ReplyDelete