Mid-Day Meal Scheme: A spotlight

The following piece is an analysis and my opinion on the importance of the Mid-Day Meal Programme in schools in Odisha. I hope to share my research and learnings with all of you.

Criticisms and Feedbacks are welcome.

Photo by OdishaTV

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme in India

The Mid Day Meal Scheme(MDM Scheme) is a school meal programme in India designed to improve the nutritional standing of school-age children.

The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government-aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour.

Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest of its kind in the world.

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The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was started in India on 15 August 1995 as the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE). It was renamed ‘the ‘National Programme of Mid Day Meal in Schools’ in October 2007, also known as the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.

Cooked meals are provided to every child enrolled and attaining school from six to fourteen years. Meals are provided to children studying in Class I to VIII.

Features of MDM in Odisha

The features of the MDM scheme are:

1. Every school should have a hygienic cooking infrastructure for hygienically cooked mid-day meals.
2. The mid-day meals are to be served only on the school premises on all working days.
3. The principal may utilize the school funds on mid-day meal fund exhaustion. However, the same will be reimbursed to the mid-day meal fund as soon as the school is credited with the same.
4. Quality items with AGMARK are procured for cooking the mid-day meals in the schools.
5. Two or three adult members taste the cooked meals from the school management committee.
6. The Food and Drugs Administration Department of the State can collect samples to test the quality and nutritional.
7. The State Steering-cum Monitoring Committee (SSMC) will oversee the implementation of this scheme, including establishing a mechanism to maintain the quality and nutritional standards of the meals.
8. Food allowance is provided to the children when the cooked meals are unavailable because of unforeseen circumstances in the following manner:
9. Quantity of the food grains according to the entitlement of a child, and
10. Cooking costs prevail in the respective state.

State government initiatives

Capacity Building

Capacity Building of the Teachers, Cook-cum-Helper, School Management Committee Members and Supervisory Officers like DEOs, BEOs, BRCCs and CRCCs is essential to ensure quality MDM, safety & hygiene in MDM. Skills development, attitude and approach to nutrition issues necessitate some capacity development programs.

Photo by Sabrang India

Capacity Building includes

• Training to District Level Officers
• Training to Cook-cum-Helper
• Health Awareness Camp at School Level

Hand washing Abhiyan

For the hygiene of students, hand wash Abhiyan has been taken-up in all schools. Health and hygiene both contribute to the nutrition of students. A bar of soap or a hand wash liquid is insufficient for the hand washing of many students during lunch breaks.

So the disposed of soft drinks plastic bottles have been collected. Two to three small holes have been made on the bottle cap. The hand wash liquid (Dettol or lifebuoy) purchased from the market is diluted with water. 20 to 30 plastic bottles filled with diluted hand wash liquid are kept ready for use by 200 children or students.

Benefits

• It is cost-effective.
• It saves the time of the children
• It reduces the rush and congestion among the students.
• It ensures the protection of the environment by reusing plastic bottles.

Photo by Odisha Links

Multi-tap water source

Children need water for drinking and washing purposes while taking a mid-day meal. But a school has a single tube well, or tap water can not serve the purpose for 100 or more children.

The innovative multi-tap water source device at the tube well or the pipe source point has been introduced with little expenditure of a plastic pipe, few taps and a rubber pipe. With the help of this rubber pipe, the multi-tap water source can be installed in any suitable place.

Benefits

• It is cost-effective.
• It saves the time of the children
• It reduces the rush and congestion among the students.
• It is so flexible that a multi-tap water source can be extended from the water source to any convenient place.

MDM Mela

To understand the significance and create consciousness among the masses on MDM, the State Project Management Unit (SPMU), Mid-Day Meal, in association with OPEPA, Govt. of Odisha has organized the “Madhyanha Bhojana Awareness Mela-2013” on 5th December of 2013.

Mid-Day Meal Awareness Mela raises awareness about MDM among different stakeholders. In this program, the government organized competitions in various categories like Art, Craft, Songs, Dance/Drama and Debate at the State level on MDM matters. Children participated in different activities in different stages like School, Cluster, Block and District Levels.

In the State Level Mela, only District Level winners participated. The government also felicitates the best contributors, who promoted the programme excellently in different areas.

Objectives

• To understand the significance and advantages of MDM programmes.
• Share the best experience on MDM.
• Share quality & safety issues of MDM.
• To understand the health & hygiene aspect of MDM.
• Share the knowledge of improvement measures for MDM.
• Create a sense of responsibility among the stakeholders.

Photo by OdishaTV

Training of cook-cum-helpers

The ideal objectives of Mid-day Meal are to attract out-of-school children to schools, retain them in school and reduce classroom hunger. It is understood that a Mid-Day meal means “NUTRITION for EDUCATION ‘’.

However, a lack of vigilance on the part of Cook-cum-Helpers & Teachers may lead to the loss of precious lives of innocent children. A contingency Plan in place can prevent such Mid-Day Meal mishaps. If any contingency arises, the Standard Operating Procedure is immediately executed.

Objectives

• Smooth monitoring of Mid-day Meals.
• Special attention to Health & Hygiene.
• Precaution & Necessary steps to be taken at School Point.

Problems identified

Systemic Problems

1. Weak monitoring of schemes by block and district-level officers regularly.
2. High student-to-teacher ratio.
3. Inadequate teachers in the schools.
4. Tendering process irregularities cause a delay in shipments of Dal and Vegetables.
5. Irregular delivery and storage of rice provided by FCI.
6. Large-scale corruption in transportation, storage, and quality control of raw materials.
7. Change in the rules of the MDM Programme affects the training of SHGs, NGOs, and school workers.
8. Lack of safe-to-use Kitchen cum storage building on school premises.
9. Lack of alternate sources of procurement of raw materials for MDM.
10. Lack of quality check of cooked food by the school administration.

Student Problems

1. Low-quality rice delivered to schools.
2. Low quality of Dal and vegetables.
3. Inadequate stocks of raw materials in school storage.
4. Irregular supply of raw materials for regular MDM.
5. The current stipulated diet is not enough for the child's nutrition development.
6. The fixed menu does not interest students daily.
7. Students lose interest in their studies after lunchtime.
8. Inadequate provisions for animal-based proteins.
9. Caste discrimination among students, teachers, and cooks.
10. Fear of food poisoning and other water-borne diseases.

Conclusion

Possible outcomes

• Increase in retention of students until class 10. Students will be more enthusiastic about giving matriculation examinations. Students will be eligible for better job opportunities if they pass matric exams from Odisha State Board.
• A decrease in the dropout rate of male and female students as regular MDM at school will incentivize continuous attendance.
• Increased access to a menu rich in carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, calcium, and phosphorus. It can help reduce undernourishment in rural Odisha.
• Independent departments in state govt. Can better manage and maintain the state MDM scheme and make necessary changes based on the requirements of concerned stakeholders.
• Village and school-level interventions such as Village MDM Committee can ensure better day-to-day oversight over the quality, regularity, health, and finances.
• District-level training and workshops of SHGs, NGOs, and teachers can ensure better management, implementation and understanding of the state MDM rules and regulations.
• Better working conditions for CCHs and other MDM workers in school can ensure loyalty to the programme's success.
• Construction of kitchens and storage spaces and purchase of new utensils and mats to improve the perception of the state MDM scheme.
• Digitization of services wherever possible in the state can improve coordination and transparency of the overall system in a phased manner.
• Coordination and collective effort of the village in integrating MDM into village life can create a long-lasting bond between the service and its benefactors.
• Democratic principles of discussions and decision-making can ensure positive growth and impression of the overall system.

Future Prospects

• The inclusion of small private schools, religious schools, and higher secondary education institutions (Class 11&12) to ensure better health for the students.
• Direct state interventions in KBK regions of Odisha can uplift economically and socially backward communities.
• MDM can be integrated into “Emergency feeding programmes and State Disaster Response” during cyclones and floods.
• Reduction in undernourished females in teenage and early adulthood.
• Reduction in mortality rate due to starvation and undernourishment.

Possible lacunae

1. This project is solely based on a literature review.
2. The project scope is defined based on reports and case studies prepared by the government of Odisha and other research institutes.
3. Testing the menu in a pilot study is essential for its success.
4. User research must be conducted in sample schools from all districts of Odisha.