The General Education department will look into how the points raised by Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan in a letter to the Chief Minister on the midday meal scheme are applicable to State schools, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said.
Mr. Sivankutty said the Chief Minister’s Office had passed on the letter to him and he had gone through it. How its contents were applicable to State schools would be examined. If those were found to be mandatory, steps would be taken to implement them.
“The General Education department’s stance is that food safety has to be ensured. We are ready to do whatever is needed to ensure that children get quality food cooked in a hygienic environment.”
Report sought
Asked about the reasons for the government withdrawing the direction making food safety licence mandatory for the midday meal scheme, the Minister said a report had been sought on this from the Director of General Education.
The government had issued the order exempting schools implementing the midday meal scheme from obtaining the food safety licence at the end of March. This followed complaints from school head teachers about pressure from the food safety authorities to take food safety registration. Head teachers were reportedly reluctant to take the registration in their name for the PM Poshan scheme (midday meal) implemented by the Union and the State governments together. At the school level, a committee led by the head teacher and comprising PTA members was responsible for its implementation. In a Malappuram school, the cook was issued a notice with a warning about penal provisions for not obtaining the food safety registration, it was alleged.
Following complaints
The widespread complaints were responsible for the government’s about-turn on the issue. The government’s rationale was that the midday meal scheme was not a food business and it was implemented in the State as a statutory and legal provision and so, the licence was not binding.
However, close on the heels of the Kerala Students’ Union demand for withdrawal of the order, Mr. Satheesan too shot off a letter to the Chief Minister stating that the decision not to comply with the Central law was illegal.
The Chief Minister should intervene to withdraw the “anti-people” order and ensure food safety standards in the distribution of midday meals, Mr. Satheesan said in the letter.
In 2022, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had asked food safety commissioners of States to ensure that food business operators, including schools and non-governmental organisations, involved in preparing or supplying midday meals for students have FSSAI registration/licence.
