Gunotsav feedback: Mid-day meals at govt schools low in nutrition
The Gujarat Education Department, this time in Gunotsav VII, maintained a feedback check-list from the senior-most officials from across departments.
Similar findings were revealed by the state government’s annual School Health Programme (SHP) in the 2015 results, which stated that over 5.13 lakh children detected as malnourished and anaemic. Photo for representational
POINTING AT the low nutrition levels in mid-day meals (MDM) provided to government school students in Gujarat, the recently concluded annual school evaluation exercise Gunotsav VII once again raised the issue. The feedback received from senior officials, who visited government schools, pointed out that “the nutrition level is very low in the food provided to them”. This has forced the state government to start the process of evaluating and revising the MDM menu. Forwarded by an additional chief secretary (ACS)-level official, the feedback has been ranked on the top of the priority list.
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The Gujarat Education Department, this time in Gunotsav VII, maintained a feedback check-list from the senior-most officials from across departments. Both the “areas of improvement” as well as the “performance worth appreciation” have been collected for further plan of action.
“Low nutrition levels in the MDM has been highlighted in the Gunotsav feedback. This will be duly taken care of as we have started evaluating the food items being provided to students… We have schemes like dudh sanjivani yojna to fight against malnutrition in the worst affected areas. We are also trying to work out other means on how we can address this issue,” said principal secretary education Sunaina Tomar.
In November 2015, the state government’s progamme Kuposhan Mukt Gujarat Maha Abhiyan — launched on May 24,2015 by then chief minister Anandi Patel at the tribal district of Chhota Udepur — had revealed an alarming number of over 1.45 lakh children under the age of six years in Gujarat were suffering from the worst category of malnutrition, Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
Similar findings were revealed by the state government’s annual School Health Programme (SHP) in the 2015 results, which stated that over 5.13 lakh children detected as malnourished and anaemic.
The state government has launched various schemes in an attempt to bring down the number of children severely affected by this physical and mental growth inhibitor. The ‘dudh sanjivani’ scheme in 2014, launched as a pilot project from Santalpur and Modasa taluka of Patan and Aravalli districts, has now been expanded to nearly a dozen other tribal districts.
A 200 milliliter pouch of fortified flavoured double toned pasturised milk with measured contents of fat (3 gm), carbohydrate (24 gm), protein (7 gm), vitamin A (500 IU equivalent to 150 mcg) and vitamin D (40 IU equivalent to 1 mcg) is given in addition to the MDM.
To counter this low nutrition levels, there were also debates on introducing eggs in the MDM, which failed to receive a nod from schools as well as the state government.
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