Egg in midday meal shouldn’t be stopped owing to high costs, Karnataka education dept tells schools

As per the government order of July 2022, the school education department states that the unit cost of eggs would be Rs 6 per student. However, with the cost of one egg now increased to Rs 5.80 from Rs 4.20, and with the inclusion of transportation and other logistical charges, school authorities, midday meal project officials, and cooks have complained that the total expenditure on distributing eggs increased. As a result, they requested the school education department to work on a solution to keep the distribution of eggs under Rs 6 per unit.

A senior education official working on the midday meal programme said most of these issues were found in the Kalyan Karnataka region like Bidar, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Vijayanagara, Koppala, Raichur and Yadgiri and in the Dharwad district.

In fact, the Kalyan Karnataka region is where the pilot implementation of eggs in midday meals began after concerns about malnutrition among children. “Incidents of not distributing eggs were reported in only some government and aided schools in the Kalyan Karnataka region. The cost of one egg was Rs 4 in October and it increased to Rs 5 in December. Hence, the school management can use the savings from previous months to purchase the eggs. Also, the attendance of students is not 100 per cent every day but school authorities purchase eggs for all students. There the management can spend wisely depending upon the attendance of the students on the day,” said the official.

A memo dated January 10, by Vishal R, commissioner of the department of public instruction, also suggested that the schools can use the School Development and Monitoring Committee’s (SDMC) development funds to procure eggs. In addition, the memo noted that certain schools are distributing bananas and chikkis to students who have opted for eggs. As a result, the commissioner highlighted that the school authorities must not work against the preferences of students and must offer the correct special nutrition food as per their preferences.

Distribution of eggs, bananas and chikkis among students in 4 districts of Karnataka.

The memo also suggested that the cooks must ensure that the eggs are peeled, boiled and distributed as per the standard operating procedure and they must be wary of bad-quality eggs. It also suggested that all the expenditures related to the special nutrition food project should be reviewed and properly maintained on records and must be submitted to the zilla panchayat office.

The Karnataka department of school education in July 2022 announced that eggs, bananas or chikkis (supplementary nutrition) would be included in the midday meals as a part of the flexibility for innovative intervention activity under the PM Poshan Shakti Nirman (midday meals) scheme for students of classes 1 to 8. The order also stated that supplementary nutrition will be provided for 46 days a year — two days a week — in all districts for the current academic year 2022-23.

ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಕೆಲವು ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಶಾಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಬಿಸಿಯೂಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊಟ್ಟೆ ವಿತರಿಸುವದನ್ನ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ಸುದ್ದಿ ವರದಿಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಚಿವ @BCNagesh_bjp ಅವರೆ, ಇದು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಗಮನಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದಿಲ್ಲವೆ? ಅಥವಾ ಆರ್ ಎಸ್ ಎಸ್ ನ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿರುವಿರೆ? ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕಳಪೆ ಆಡಳಿತದಿಂದ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಮೋಸ ಮಾಡುವಿರಿ?
1/3 pic.twitter.com/KD62T33n2c

— Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) January 19, 2023

Meanwhile, Janata Dal (Secular) has hit out at School Education Minister B C Nagesh for allegedly not acting on time.

“In some government schools in the state, it is reported that the distribution of eggs in midday meals has been stopped. Minister of Education @BCNagesh_bjp , have you not noticed this? Or waiting for direction from RSS? Why do you hit children’s stomachs with your poor management?” the JD(S) tweeted.

“The reason for this situation is said to be the increase in the price of eggs. The government must have the vision, be aware of the system and have the acumen to prevent problems. It is not a good sign to wait until there is a problem and then rush to solve it. Rate revision is not possible at this time. However, had there been knowledge about it, necessary steps could have been taken to avoid the problem,” it further said.