A series of inspections by the vigilance officials at three Zilla Parishad High Schools in the city on Monday revealed the large-scale irregularities in the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme. The officials found that edible oil of inferior quality and rotten eggs were being used to prepare the food for the students.
Checks were conducted at the Zilla Parishad High Schools at Gopalapatnam, Vepagunta and Pendurti on the instructions of K. Sravani, Deputy Superintendent of Police and in-charge Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Officer (RVEO) of Visakhapatnam.
During the check at the S.V.L.N. Zilla Parishad High School at Gopalapatnam, the vigilance officials found most of the eggs boiled for the lunch were rotten which were being served to students.
Some students had already started eating the rotten boiled eggs when the officials raided the premises.
‘Students skip lunch’
According to the officials, the school has a food committee comprising three teachers which is supposed to check the quality of food before it is served to the students.
The teachers are supposed to note down the remarks in the prescribed register.
“Neither did the committee members nor the headmaster check the food. Of the 949 students on rolls, 614 were present on Monday. Only 104 students were eating the mid-day meal at the school. We found that the poor quality food was making a majority of students getting lunch from their homes which means the very purpose of the scheme is defeated,” a vigilance official said.
The officials also found lapses when it came to maintenance of the records which was done until February 28.
At Pendurti Zilla Parishad High School, the officials found that food was not prepared on time and half-boiled eggs were being served.
Records not maintained
The records were not being maintained properly. Only 40 students were having lunch when compared to the 189 students on the roll.
Similar lapses were also found at Vepagunta Zilla Parishad High School.
‘Report to be submitted’
“The irresponsibility of the school staff and cooks is to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs at the schools. A detailed report will be submitted to the government soon,” Ms. K. Sravani said.
Inspectors R. Mallikarjuna Rao, N. Srinivasa Rao and B. Narimani conducted the surprise inspections along with Vigilance Engineers G. Satya Kumar, Ch. Ramprasad and M. Madhu with the assistance of Head Constable SK. Mubarak and Constables K. Satyanarayana and L. Nageswar Rao.
