With schools being closed early this year to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is contemplating delivering midday meals to students at their homes. S. Suresh Kumar, Primary and Secondary Education Minister, said on Thursday that they were “envisaging the process”.
Sources in the department said a decision would be made in a day or two. “We are deliberating between giving groceries to the students or serving cooked meals at their homes,” a senior official said.
The demand came from several students’ organisations, who pointed out that students from many low-income households depend on these meals. They also pointed out that according to the National Family Health (NFHS) survey 4 data for Karnataka (2015-16), 36.2% of the children below the age of five were stunted, while 26.1% were wasted. The survey also reveals that 10.5% of the children were severely wasted, while 35.2% were underweight.
The department decided to close schools in a phased manner earlier this month. Even while the summer vacation is in progress, students in the past years, particularly in flood- and drought-hit areas, have been coming to school to get their midday meals. In Karnataka, 53.47 lakh students in government and aided schools consume midday meals. According to the norms by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the midday meal should have at least 450 calories and 12 grams of protein for students from classes 1 to 5, while students from classes 6 to 10 should get 700 calories and 20 gm of protein.
