The future of India
lies in the health of her children. The latest Human Development Report
shows that 47 per cent children are underweight. Over 34 per cent of
Indians live on less than Rs 40 a day. The mid-day meal (MDM) scheme is
thus a necessity. It is an investment the country makes in the health
of its children.
But unfortunately, the government’s implementation of the scheme leaves
much to be desired in most parts of the country.
Recently, some of our young MPs — keen to understand the malnutrition
situation in the country — made jaunts to a few states.
Meanwhile, there was a hare-brained suggestion from some quarters to
replace a fresh MDM with packed food — like biscuits. Our leaders feel
that by doing away with the hot meal,they would be stemming the
corruption found to be associated with the programme.
It is akin to killing a person because of an ailing organ. It would be
funny, if it were not appalling, to see how ignorant some of our
leaders are of a government scheme working well in some parts of the
country.
The advocates of packed meals should visit some villages in Tamil Nadu
to see for themselves what a fresh, hot meal can do. The formula
adopted by those schools running a successful MDM scheme leaves little
room for corruption and has dramatically improved the quality of the
meal.
What is this magic remedy? It is the involvement of the mothers of the
children in the MDM programme. Along with the teachers, they have a say
in the purchase and storage of the food items. The mothers’ group of
each school selects from among themselves those who will cook and serve
the meals. The cooking is done on the school premises and they ensure
that each child gets a hot meal of rice, sambhar and greens or koottu
(mixed vegetables).
The child carries a plate to school and after eating, washes and takes
it home to bring it again the next day. The scheme is working so well
that the balanced nutritious meal comes for (hold your breath) just Rs
5 a day for each child.
Tamil Nadu has an MDM committee, which has drawn up a weekly menu,
providing for variety and ensuring that the children get balanced
nutritious meals. The involvement of the mothers in the meal programme
has had many positive spin-offs. Their presence on the school premises
and the constant and regular monitoring by the state authorities ensure
that teachers do not absent themselves from work and classes are run on
a regular basis.
The INDUS project launched by the Indian government in 21 districts of
the country to eliminate child labour has found that involving mothers
in the MDM programme has brought the children into schools faster than
any other scheme.
In districts with high instances of child labour like Virudhanagar and
Nammakal for example, involving the mothers has promoted teacher-parent
interaction, thus benefiting the child.
In some areas, NGOs have joined hands with the government in running
special schools for mainstreaming child labourers.
Some of them have managed to raise additional resources so that each
child can be given a glass of milk or a mid-morning snack. In some of
these special schools, an afternoon snack in the form of a cup of
groundnuts, cooked beans or Bengal gram has been introduced providing
an additional helping of much-needed protein.
The mothers involved in the cooking programme are given a monthly
stipend, which goes into augmenting the household income. Another big
plus is that children from different religions and castes eat food
cooked and served from a common pot. They sit together, breaking bread,
and caste barriers.
So let us hand over the reins of the MDM programme elsewhere in the
country too to the mothers. They will ensure that their children get
adequate nutrition and also attend school regularly.
At stake is much more than a mid-day meal scheme.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/More_than_a_meal/rssarticleshow/2831777.cms
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