The Education Department has revised the Mid-day meal material cost on the basis of supplies provided by the Haryana Agro Industries Corporation Limited (HAICL) and items purchased directly by schools for preparing meals in government schools across Haryana.
Mid-day meals are provided to students of Bal Vatika, primary and upper primary classes in government schools under the PM POSHAN scheme. The material cost per child per day is fixed at Rs 6.78 for Bal Vatika and primary classes, while it is Rs 10.17 for upper primary classes.
Earlier, under the department’s fixed cost structure, out of the Rs 6.78 allocated for primary class students, Rs 3.94 was used for procuring ration from HAICL. Of the remaining Rs 2.84, Rs 1.01 was earmarked for cooking expenses, Rs 0.52 for vegetables, Rs 1.04 for milk/curd, Rs 0.15 for wheat grinding and Rs 0.12 for dishwashing.
Mid-day meal in-charges had expressed dissatisfaction with the revised arrangements and the amount allocated for purchasing milk and curd. Concerns were also raised regarding the quality of certain items supplied, especially jaggery.
According to the orders issued on Wednesday, out of the Rs 6.78 material cost, Rs 2.54 will now be used for procuring items from HAICL, while the remaining Rs 4.24 will be utilised by schools for wheat grinding, gas, vegetables, jaggery, milk and curd.
Under the revised arrangement, schools will continue to receive chana, soya, rajma, besan, ragi flour, pulses, oil, peanuts and spices through HAICL. However, jaggery, which was earlier included in the ration supply, will now be purchased directly by schools.
In directions issued to all District Education Officers (DEOs) and District Elementary Education Officers (DEEOs), the Director of Elementary Education stated that the Mid-day meal material prices fixed in February this year have been withdrawn and re-fixed based on the cost of materials supplied by HAICL and local purchases made by schools.
Amit Chhabra, Mid-day meal in-charge at a government school and spokesperson of the Rajkiya Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, Haryana, welcomed the move.
“We welcome the department’s decision to re-fix the cost as it will provide some relief to the in-charges. The earlier rates were not properly calculated, due to which schools were facing difficulty in managing expenses. The rising cost of materials had become a major concern,” he said.
He further urged the department to ensure that only branded products are supplied by HAICL for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. “The government should also increase the budget to Rs 10 per child for primary classes and Rs 15 per child for upper primary classes,” he added.
