The State Government has sent a proposal to include milk or bananas on the lunch menu offered at government schools under the midday meal scheme, said State Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri.
The Minister was speaking at the State-level convention of Primary School teachers association held here on Thursday. The Minister, however, did not elaborate on the current status of the proposal.
It may be recalled that there was a furore in 2007 around a proposal to add eggs to the lunch menu to increase the nutritional value of the meal. Several religious heads had opposed the move. Milk, which was then proposed as an alternative, was then rejected citing logistic reasons since it is highly perishable.
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The theme of the conference was “Providing quality education under ‘Nali Kali’ programme.” Appealing to the audience, largely comprising of elected teachers’ representatives from across the State, he said that his mission was to improve the quality of primary education provided in government schools.
“The education sector is a top priority for us and we are set to shift focus from merely delivering textbooks on time to improving the ‘quality’ of the content, Previously, our priority was to ensure that books and uniforms reached schools before time. Now, we will strive to improve the quality of the education that we provide,” he said. He also added that logistical issues such as salaries and welfare of teachers will be taken care of, and should not stand in the way.