Midday Meals Leave 900 Children ill
In the last 3 years, more than 900 children all over the country fell sick after eating the Mid-day meals provided in schools.
The Midday Meal Scheme was started by the HRD Ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy. The aim of the programme was to provide nutritious food to children all over the country. It was a way to attract children to attend school. The HRD ministry said that, in the past three years, 930 children were reported ill across the country after eating the Mid-Day meals.The Ministry received 35 complaints from 15 States and Union Territories (UTs) regarding the bad food quality. An official with the HRD ministry said that 930 children were ill but none of them died.
The responsibility of the State governments to provide cooked and nutritious midday meals to the children. The HRD Ministry has also issued guidelines on quality, safety and hygiene in school-level kitchens. AGMARK Certification is a certificate given to farm produce by the Department of Agriculture. The ministry said that the items used for making the meals must be AGMARK certified. They also said that Atleast two to three adults of the school management must taste the food before it is given to children. The HRD ministry has warned the state government authorities. They have said that if they do not improve the quality of their food, strict action will be taken.
