PUNE: The mid-day meal scheme for students will follow guidelines prescribed by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) from the next academic year. The state education department will introduce these guidelines advised by the Union ministry of human resource and development (HRD).
Accordingly, the food will be tested for nutritional value as per FSSAI guidelines apart from the present real-time monitoring through the information and communication technology (ICT) system that has been deployed in several schools.
A meeting of HRD officials and education directors of all states was held last week in Delhi to decide on the efficient functioning of the scheme. In this meeting, the FSSAI said it has prepared guidelines for testing meals. The FSSAI also exempted schools from registering or licensing with them.
State director of education (primary) Mahaveer Mane, who attended the meeting, said it was decided that a protocol for standards in food safety and testing be introduced to ensure quality of meals and appropriate nutrition standards under the mid-day meal scheme. "Several states, including Maharashtra, raised the issue of schools not having enough space for kitchen sheds. It was then decided that instead of cooking the meals in schools, states must allow the preparation in a government-managed centralized kitchen. Such kitchens would be set up in each block to cater to a cluster of schools. These kitchens could be run by self-help groups," he said.
It was also decided that teachers would taste the meals and ensure that they were served by the cook and assistants in an orderly manner. Sarita Deshpande, headmistress of Savitribai Phule English medium school, said, "We have written to the state government several times that we needed extra manpower in order to manage the scheme in schools. The decisions taken by the Union ministry are welcome, but we hope they are implemented soon and in an effective manner. Besides, teachers should not be burdened."
In August 2013, then HRD minister M M Pallam Raju had announced the plan to follow the FSSAI guidelines for the mid-day meal scheme on the backdrop of several complaints about the quality of food served.
Issues discussed in the meeting
- Social audit: Social audit, an important tool for monitoring the mid-day meal scheme through community participation, will be carried out in nine states, including Maharashtra. These states have already initiated the process for conducting the audit.
- Scheme coverage: Some states have been asked to find reasons and take corrective measures for the lower participation by students in the meal scheme as against the national average.
- Kitchen-cum-stores: State governments have been advised to provide additional funds from their own resources to complete the pending work of constructing kitchen-cum-stores.
- Payment of honorarium: States should ensure timely payment of honorarium to the cook-cum-helpers in the meal scheme. It was suggested that the payment be made directly in their bank accounts.
- Hygiene: Cook-cum-helpers should ensure personal hygiene and also wash the raw food items.
Accordingly, the food will be tested for nutritional value as per FSSAI guidelines apart from the present real-time monitoring through the information and communication technology (ICT) system that has been deployed in several schools.
A meeting of HRD officials and education directors of all states was held last week in Delhi to decide on the efficient functioning of the scheme. In this meeting, the FSSAI said it has prepared guidelines for testing meals. The FSSAI also exempted schools from registering or licensing with them.
State director of education (primary) Mahaveer Mane, who attended the meeting, said it was decided that a protocol for standards in food safety and testing be introduced to ensure quality of meals and appropriate nutrition standards under the mid-day meal scheme. "Several states, including Maharashtra, raised the issue of schools not having enough space for kitchen sheds. It was then decided that instead of cooking the meals in schools, states must allow the preparation in a government-managed centralized kitchen. Such kitchens would be set up in each block to cater to a cluster of schools. These kitchens could be run by self-help groups," he said.
It was also decided that teachers would taste the meals and ensure that they were served by the cook and assistants in an orderly manner. Sarita Deshpande, headmistress of Savitribai Phule English medium school, said, "We have written to the state government several times that we needed extra manpower in order to manage the scheme in schools. The decisions taken by the Union ministry are welcome, but we hope they are implemented soon and in an effective manner. Besides, teachers should not be burdened."
In August 2013, then HRD minister M M Pallam Raju had announced the plan to follow the FSSAI guidelines for the mid-day meal scheme on the backdrop of several complaints about the quality of food served.
Issues discussed in the meeting
- Social audit: Social audit, an important tool for monitoring the mid-day meal scheme through community participation, will be carried out in nine states, including Maharashtra. These states have already initiated the process for conducting the audit.
- Scheme coverage: Some states have been asked to find reasons and take corrective measures for the lower participation by students in the meal scheme as against the national average.
- Kitchen-cum-stores: State governments have been advised to provide additional funds from their own resources to complete the pending work of constructing kitchen-cum-stores.
- Payment of honorarium: States should ensure timely payment of honorarium to the cook-cum-helpers in the meal scheme. It was suggested that the payment be made directly in their bank accounts.
- Hygiene: Cook-cum-helpers should ensure personal hygiene and also wash the raw food items.
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