The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

The Mid-Day Meal Programme in Urban Primary and Rural Upper Primary Schools in

Pratichi (India) Trust February 2010 2 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal : The Mid-Day Meal Programme in Urban Primary and Rural Upper Primary Schools in West Bengal

First Published February 2010 © Pratichi (India) Trust

Pratichi (India) Trust Chair: Amartya Sen Managing Trustee: Antara Dev Sen

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Printed at S.S. Print, Kolkata 700 009 3 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

The Mid-Day Meal Programme in Urban Primary and Rural Upper Primary Schools in West Bengal

STUDY TEAM Manabesh Sarkar Paromita Haldar Santabhanu Sen Arabinda Nandy Kumar Rana (Co-ordination)

ASSISTANCE Saumik Mukherjee Debajyoti Bose Sumanta Paul

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Amartya Sen Antara Dev Sen A J Philip Dinesh K Bhatt Gautam Ghosh Sukumar Roy Manoj Dey Pallav Goswami Saumitra Sengupta Parthendu Chakar-Kriti Mukherjee Kiriti Mukherjee All Bengal Primary Teachers’ Association West Bengal Primary Teachers’ Association Department of School Education, Government of West Bengal Kolkata Municipal Corporation Kolkata District Primary School Council Sarva Siksha Mission, Birbhum Authorities of the Study Districs All Our Respondents

5 CONTENTS

1. Introduction 7 2. Implementation of Mid-Day Meal 18 in the Urban Primary Schools 3. Implementation of Mid-Day Meal at the 29 Upper Primary Schools of West Bengal 4. A concluding remark 42 Notes and References 44 Persons met 47

6 7 1. INTRODUCTION

The Government of India launched in 1995 a programme called the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (popularly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme), in which free cooked meal was to be provided to all the children studying in government, local body and government-aided primary schools during all school days. This appears to be the largest school feeding programme in the world. The object of this programme was to give a boost to universalisation of primary education by increasing enrolment, retention and attendance and, simultaneously, meet the nutritional requirements of students in primary classes, as stated by the Government of India1 . Such a programme, however, had been in operation in some of the Indian states. Indeed, Tamil Nadu played a pioneering role in introducing it first in 8,000 selected primary schools in 19562. Notwithstanding the positive impact the Tamil Nadu scheme made on primary education and the Central Government’s announcement, many of the states failed to comply fully with the Central directives. Instead of providing cooked meal to the school children, most of the states distributed three kilograms of foodgrains per child per month. It was only after the landmark order of the Supreme Court on November 28, 2001, directing all State Governments and Union Territories to provide cooked food in every government and government-assisted primary schools that the scenario began to change. The order was issued in connection with a public interest litigation on the right to food initiated by Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties, Rajasthan. According to this order, “Those Governments providing dry rations, instead of cooked meals, must within three months start providing cooked meals in all government and

8 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal government-aided primary schools in half the districts of the state (in the order of poverty) and must, within a further period of three months, extend the provision of cooked meals to the remaining parts of the state.”3 . The Supreme Court directed the State Governments and Union Territories to serve prepared Mid-Day Meal in every government and government-assisted primary schools with a minimum content of 300 calories and 8-12 grams of protein, each day of the school for a minimum of 200 days. The Government of West Bengal, ultimately, came up to meet the demands of the Supreme Court and started introducing it from 2003. However, as soon as West Bengal overcame the initial hiccups in complying with the popular demand and the Supreme Court order to implement the programme in every primary school, including the Sishu Shiksha Kendras, the programme spread in the rural areas with remarkable speed. The beginning was made with some 1,100 primary schools in five districts (Murshidabad, Birbhum, Bankura, Paschim Midnapore and Jalpaiguri) in 2003. Subsequently, the programme was extended to other districts. In the initial stages of introduction, there were vigorous debates on the programme. The debates were essentially a conflict between two classes of people, viz., the affluent section and the marginalised and disadvantaged people. While the majority of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Muslims and other poor people wanted a cooked Mid-Day Meal for their children in the school, the relatively affluent sections of the society thought this as not only completely unnecessary but also hazardous and harmful to schooling. The Mid- Day Meal Scheme brought forth the social division of West Bengal anew4 . However, despite many resistances, confusions and anxieties, the programme was implemented in the primary schools throughout West Bengal. By 2008-09, 90 per cent of the primary schools have been brought under the fold of this programme.5 Pratichi (India) Trust has been advocating implementation of this programme. In accordance with its findings of studies made on the delivery of primary education in West Bengal in 2001-02, it strongly suggested replacement of dry ration with cooked mid-day meal6 . 9 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal The Trust carried out two studies on Mid-Day Meal, one in 2004, immediately after the introduction of cooked Mid-Day Meal in West Bengal and the other in 2005-06. There has been tremendous progress in bringing the underprivileged children into the fold of primary schooling. Also, the expansion of the MDM programme to cover almost all rural primary schools and SSKs has had a positive impact on the rate of attendance. The recent Pratichi study on primary education in West Bengal found immense improvement in enrolment and rate of attendance of children after the introduction of MDM in primary schools and SSKs. The implementation of the MDM programme, which is a crucial public intervention, has had a radical impact on the primary schooling system and also on the West Bengal society as a whole. This has been corroborated by our finding, although there are some causes of concern. 7

SOME OF THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE MID-DAY MEAL PROGRAMME IN THE RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND SSKS (FROM OUR EARLIER STUDIES ON MID-DAY MEAL)

‰ The MDM scheme has not only acted as a catalyst for improving the enrolment and attendance of the children, but has also exerted a positive influence on universalisation of elementary education through eliminating classroom hunger and reducing the gender gap in education. The programme has also contributed successfully towards reducing absenteeism among the teachers. All these factors are closely connected with improvements in schooling which, to a large extent, has been influenced by the Mid-Day Meal programme. ‰ It has played a major role in reducing the gap of social distances among children. Many evidences suggest the scope of MDM in identifying and narrowing down the gap. It was reported in many cases that the children defied the mandates of their parents and shared the food together. ‰ The programme has also created scope, especially for the rural women, to engage in some sort of income-generating activities. ‰ The programme has provided ample opportunity for the parents and local people to get involved with the schooling and take part in the overall governance of the school. ‰ It has helped in streamlining the infrastructure facilities of the school such as kitchen shed, tube wells, toilets, classrooms etc.

10 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal The SSKs are now provided with MDM. This was not the case when we did our first study in 2001-2002. Students of government primary schools were also not provided mid-day meals but they were allocated 3 kgs of rice per student per month. The SSK children were not entitled to even this meagre quantity of rice. In spite of the positive lessons of the programme launched in the rural primary schools and the tremendous necessity of such a programme for the urban primary school children, most of the primary schools in urban areas have not yet been covered under it: the extent of coverage in Kolkata has been, as on March 31, 2009, a meagre 31 per cent (see table-1.1 for details). According to the Additional Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal, the space problem for constructing kitchen sheds in school premises was the main reason for the low coverage of the programme in Kolkata as well as in the urban areas of North and South 24 Parganas8. Whether this was the main reason for such low coverage of Mid-Day Meal in urban areas requires an inquiry. The launching of the programme at upper primary level has actually started, along with other Indian states, in 2008-09.9 So far, about half of the schools (54 per cent to be exact) of upper primary schools have been brought under the fold of the programme.10 Despite the relatively quicker pace of coverage, the programme at the upper primary level has been facing several problems, including occasional interruptions and complete withdrawal in some schools. There seems to be a common link between the problems of implementations of the programme in the urban primary schools and the upper primary schools of rural areas.

OVERALL POSITION OF MDM IN WEST BENGAL

The cooked Mid-day Meal programme was launched in the state in 2003 on an experimental basis in some selected primary schools and by 2005 it was extended to cover almost all rural primary schools. At the end of 2008-09, 90 percent of all primary schools in West Bengal are covered under this scheme (the all India coverage being 97 per

11 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal cent, West Bengal is ahead only of Manipur and Bihar),11 but, a major chunk of the primary schools in the urban areas are still left uncovered. The launching of the MDM at the upper primary level in West Bengal was started in 2008-09. Table-1.1 shows the district-wise coverage of the programme at primary stage in West Bengal. The lower position in comparison to the all-India average is mainly due to the non-coverage of this programme in urban areas in the state. From table-1.1, we find that the coverage of this programme is the lowest in Kolkata (a meagre 31 per cent). And barring some exception like Howrah, districts with higher urban population have seen lower coverage of Mid-Day Meal in the primary schools. Though the wider coverage of this programme in rural areas highlights the positive impact and possibilities of the programme, the lacklustre performance in the urban areas, even after six years of the launching of this programme, raises doubts about the seriousness of attitude or political will for its implementation. As a result of this non-coverage, a large section of the poor children in urban areas are deprived of their rights to nutritional security as well as educational guarantee.

12 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

Table-1.1 Coverage of Mid-Day Meal Scheme in West Bengal for Primary Level (till March 31, 2009) Sl. Name of the No. of No. of No. of Percentage No. of Percentage No. district schools students schools of schools students of students (Class I serving serving having having to V) MDM MDM MDM MDM 1 Bankura 4433 395530 4433 100 395530 100 2 Birbhum 3529 400166 3398 96 338194 85 3 Burdwan 6116 744610 5253 86 526682 71 4 CoochBehar 2902 366130 2795 96 223771 61 5 D/Dinajpur 1946 229788 1743 90 229788 100 6 U/Dinajpur 2627 437382 2627 100 352585 81 7 DGHC 1494 84344 1489 100 84344 100 8 Hoogly 3956 488342 3287 83 353342 72 9 Howrah 2965 341178 2892 98 341178 100 10 Jalpaiguri 3535 482977 3521 100 482977 100 11 Kolkata 2739 263510 862 31 69274 26 12 Malda 2920 528169 2669 91 439696 83 13 Murshidabad 5541 968288 5510 99 627184 65 14 E/Medinipur 5512 546331 5512 100 494704 91 15 W/Medinipur 8116 667866 7927 98 567437 85 16 Nadia 3853 559476 3368 87 559476 100 17 N/24Pgs 5670 779436 4551 80 596854 77 18 S/24Pgs 5973 877177 4407 74 518001 59 19 Purulia 3995 363592 3888 97 363592 100 20 Siliguri 759 115057 711 94 106400 92 Total 78581 9639348 70843 90 7671009 80

Source: School Education Department, Govt. of West Bengal, 2009

The non-introduction of MDM at primary level is found to be higher in the districts with higher urban population. The top five districts in terms of non-introduction are eventually the districts with substantial urbanisation (Chart 1). But, in the case of the upper primary schools, no such rural- urban divide was found. For example, on December 31, 2008, Dakhshin Dinajpur (with a smaller urban population) and Hoogly (with considerable urban population) districts had not yet started the implementation of MDM at the upper primary level (see table-1.2). Fifty four per cent schools in West Bengal at the upper primary level have come under the coverage of this programme against the all- 13 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

Source: School Education Department, Govt. of West Bengal India average of 89 per cent.12 Table-1.2 shows the present status of non-introduction of this programme at the upper primary level in some districts of West Bengal. Table 1.2.District-wise non-introduction of Mid-Day Meal at Upper Primary Level (as on December 31, 2008)* Districts No. of children as approved Percentage by the Mid-Day Meal NOT covered Programme Approval Board Dakshin Dinajpur 82444 100 Hooghly 225149 100 Kolkata 120953 100 Nadia 24773 97 North 24 Parganas 370754 94 South 24 Parganas 323235 90 Barddhaman 298217 89 Jalpaiguri 177664 80 Siliguri 43031 71 Howrah 181614 70 Kochbihar 148966 63 Maldah 171965 56 Birbhum 159222 53 Total 3816192 58 *figures of all districts not available Source: Minutes of the Meeting of the Programme Approval Board for Mid-Day Meal Scheme on March 26, 2009; Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Mid-Day Meal Division. 14 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

PRESENT STUDY

Aside from the studies carried out on Mid-Day Meal, the Trust’s research team has incorporated an inquiry on the issue in its recently concluded wider study on the delivery of primary education in West Bengal.13 Nevertheless, all these investigations and studies carried out by others pertained to the rural primary schools alone; there has not been any study worth the name on the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal programme in the urban primary schools and in the rural upper primary schools. The public discussions organised by us14, the experiences of our collaborative interventions with the teachers’ unions in Kolkata15 and other sources of information showed that there were gaps in the implementation of the MDM in the primary schools in urban areas and in the upper primary schools in the rural areas. This added urgency to carrying out a study in these two sectors in order to develop a fuller understanding of the issue. The city of Kolkata was selected purposely, keeping in view the fact that the primary schools in the city consisted of a majority of the urban primary school children in the whole state. For the upper primary level, we selected two districts — Maldah and Birbhum — where the literacy rates are below the state average (68.616 ) on the assumption that there was a higher relevance of the programme in those districts. This study followed a methodology to capture in depth the intricacies involved in the implementation of the programme. In spite of selecting a huge sample, it emphasised the need for a greater in-depth inquiry to see the details in their entirety. Eight primary schools under the Kolkata Primary School Council (KPSC) and two primary schools under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) were chosen for the field study in Kolkata (see for details Table 1.3a). For the upper primary level, three blocks, each from Maldah and Birbhum, were selected randomly. From each block, two schools were chosen. The selected schools included those having the MDM in operation and those where it had not yet been introduced (see for details Table 1.3b). However, because of constraint of time, it was not possible for us to carry out the investigation in one of the selected upper primary schools in . Thus, the total number of upper primary schools covered under the study was 11, 15 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal instead of 12. The field study was carried out between the middle of July 2009 and middle of September 2009.

A BRIEF NOTE ON THE AREA OF STUDY

Kolkata, one of the 19 districts in West Bengal and the main commercial centre of Eastern India with many industries, is the capital of West Bengal. It is one of the mega cities of India. It is the main centre of higher education in West Bengal. The population density of Kolkata is very high — 24,718 per sq km17 . Although Kolkata occupies only 0.2 per cent of the area of West Bengal, its population is nearly 6 per cent of the state population. The percentage of different social identities in the population of Kolkata is 6.0, 0.2, 20.3 and 73.5 per cent for SC, ST, Muslim and others respectively. There are many people in Kolkata who speak languages other than Bengali. The literacy rate in the city is 80.9 per cent; for women it is 73.3 per cent.18 Primary education in the city is managed mainly by two authorities, namely the KPSC and the KMC. Under the KMC, there are two types of primary institutions, viz. Kolkata Municipal Corporation Primary (KMCP) schools and Sishu Siksha Kendras (SSKs). There are a sizeable number of private-run institutions also. The implementing authorities of Mid-Day Meal in Kolkata are the KPSC Chairman (with District Inspector, Primary) and KMC, unlike the other districts where the District Magistrate is the highest authority for its implementation. Table-1.3a shows the list of schools in Kolkata where the field studies were made.

16 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal Table-1.3a. Name of the primary-level schools visited in Kolkata Sl Regu- Name of the Address of the Providing No. lating school school MDM authority or not 1. KPSC Rishi Bankim Vidyapith 2C, Rani Harshamukhi Yes Road, Kol-37 2 Belgachia Monohar 5/1 Olaichandi Road, No Academy Kol-37 3 Belgachia Swamiji 64,Belgachia Road, Yes Siksha Niketan GSFP Belgachia, Villa Housing Estate, Kol-37 4 Sree Nehru Vidyapith 1B/18, Dum Dum Stopped Road, Kol-37 5 Sobhasona Smriti G.S Sakuntala Park, Yes Biren Roy Road, Kol-61 6 Bangamoni Vidyapith 7/3 Biren Roy Road No (West), Kol-8 7 Bastuhara Vidyapith 28,Canal South Road Yes Kol-15 8 Jayasree Vidyaniketan 15,Barawaritala Road No Kol-10 9 KMC KMCP School (UDB) 1/5 Raja Dinendra Stopped Street Kol-9 10 KMCP School 17/1 Monosatala Lane, No Kol-23

Birbhum and Malda are two districts which are dependent mainly on agriculture. In Birbhum, a part of the district adjacent to the coal belt of is enriched with coal mines too. The percentages of cultivators and agricultural labourers among the total workers are 23 and 37 for Birbhum and 21 and 31 for Malda respectively. The shares of SC, ST and Muslims in the total population are 29, 7 and 35 per cent for Birbhum and 17, 7 and 50 per cent for Malda respectively. Thus, both the districts are inhabited mainly by the socially oppressed groups of people (71 and 74 per cent respectively). The literacy rates of these two districts are 61 and 50 per cent respectively whereas they are 52 and 41 per cent respectively for women19. Birbhum has three subdivisions and Malda has two subdivisions. The list of the schools visited in these two districts is in table-1.3b. 17 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

Table-1.3b.Name of the upper primary schools visited District Subdivision Block Name of the School Providing MDM or not Birbhum Sadar Rajnagar Laujore High School Yes Bandi Madhyamik Siksha Kendra Yes Bolpur Bolpur- Panchshowa Rabindra Vidyapith Stopped Sriniketan Binuria Sumitra Balika Vidyalaya Yes Rampurhat Nalhati-II Bhadrapur Maharaja No* Nandakumar High School Sadar Gazole Hatimari High School Stopped Eklakhi Mission Girls High School Yes Malda Kaliachak Baishnabnagar High School No* -III Bhagobanpur KBS High School Yes Chanchal Chanchal Jodupur High School Yes -II Jalalpur HRA High School yes** *Introduced for Std V but that too has stopped now. **However, on the day of visit it was stopped due to religious occasion (roja).

THE REPORT

This report is divided into four parts. The first, the present one, introduces the study, with a description of its area and methodology. The second section deals with the aspects of implementation of the programme in urban primary schools, while the third captures the MDM in upper primary schools in rural areas. The last section makes a quick round-up. We hope that this report would help in generating public debates and discussions on MDM, an issue of central importance, and thereby influence public policies on this issue.

18 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF MID-DAY MEAL IN THE URBAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Kajal Das, a student of Standard IV of Shree Nehru Vidyapith (a primary school in Kolkata) could hardly bring anything from home for lunch. Usually, her mother gives her a rupee or two with which she buys something from the vendor outside the school, but the stuff is too insufficient to fight hunger: pet bhore na. But things were different. There was Mid-Day Meal in the school. It was launched some two years back, but stopped after running for a year only. Now, Kajal and her fellow children have no other way but to face the wrath of hunger. Her mother, Uma (a sweeper and Dalit by caste), was candid when she said, “The Mid-Day Meal was very beneficial to us. There was no anxiety about my child’s hunger. We are unable to provide her any tiffin from home. God knows what happened, the MDM programme was stopped after a few months of its introduction.” Uma and her daughter were not the only ones who miss the MDM, which had found appreciation from many quarters. According to the chairman of the Kolkata Primary School Council (KPSC), “the Mid-Day meal is extremely necessary for about two- thirds of the primary school children in Kolkata”. (In his estimate, about 100,000 out of 162,000 children enrolled in the primary schools have a very poor background). Regrettably, in spite of such recognition, only 9 per cent of the primary school children here are being provided with Mid-Day Meal now. The present position of the Mid-Day Meal Programme in the primary-level schools of Kolkata is shown in table-2.1.

19 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

Table-2.1.Coverage of Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Kolkata at the Primary Level

Total No. No. of No. of % of No. of % of of School Students schools schools students students serving serving having having MDM MDM MDM MDM Primary school 1203 162000* 120 10 14360 8.9 (till July 27, 2009) KMCP school 252 27663 189 75 21437 77.5 (till April’09) Kolkata(total**) (till March’09) 2739 263510 862 31.5 69274 26.3

* As stated by KPSC Chairman (actual figures not available), ** Includes the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and the Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) centres too. Source: KPSC; Education Department KMC; School Education Department, Govt. of West Bengal

THE URGENCY OF MID-DAY MEAL IN KOLKATA

A teacher of a school where MDM has not been introduced informed us that most of their students belonged to poor families. But as MDM was not provided in their school, parents were keen on

20 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal enrolling their children in a neighbouring school where the programme was in operation. This resulted in a reduction in the enrolment in their school. A teacher of a school where MDM was provided told us that after the introduction of MDM in 2007, the attendance of the students had increased. On the contrary, a teacher of a school where MDM was never introduced said that they were compelled to close the school early as the children became inattentive owing to hunger. Sree Nehru Vidyapith is a Hindi medium primary school in North Kolkata. It functions in a nearly dilapidated rented building. The only room with tiled roof that houses the classes is on the verge of collapse. There are only two teachers in this school. The parents who have no other alternative enrol their children here. According to a teacher, this school is for the poorest of the poor in the locality. MDM was a crucial intervention as could be inferred from the way the children enjoyed the meal. This is how the teacher described the situation: “Hearing the noise of the cart carrying MDM, the children start wrapping up their study materials. And, when the cart reaches the school, the children shout with excitement, “gari aa gaiyee (the cart has come).” He became emotional while telling the story. But this happy situation is no longer prevalent in the school as the programme has been stopped. As a result, the enrolment in the school has fallen sharply. We have observed during the fieldwork that a section of the children remained hungry throughout the school period. Also, they did not have any certainty of getting food when they returned home. Another section of the children were found to be in a slightly better condition as their parents could provide them a rupee or two to buy something for lunch (as in the case of Kajal narrated above). There was another section of children who could bring some food from home while coming to school, though they, too, had a weaker economic background. In the schools where the programme has already been in operation, the parents of almost all the children praised the programme as it was beneficial for their children as well as their families. In the schools where the MDM was yet to be launched, parents demanded that the programme be launched without further delay. 21 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal According to the Chairperson of the KPSC, “A majority of the children enrolled in the government primary schools belong to poor families.” It has generally been seen that in the urban areas the affluent sections have a growing inclination towards enrolling their children in private schools.20 Aside from the general relevance of policy implementation, the particular needs of the children of the Kolkata primary schools added urgency to the launching of the programme. But, regrettable as it was, even after nearly a decade of the Supreme Court order on the implementation of the programme, more than two-thirds of all the Kolkata primary schools (run under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation – KMC and the KPSC and others) still remained uncovered. Again, the schools run by the KPSC were far too deprived — only 10 per cent of them have this programme in operation. The level of implementation in the KMC schools was better — 75 per cent. But, given the small number of KMCP schools (252 as opposed to 1203 run by KPSC) the right to food of a large majority of the children of Kolkata was still a dream (see table-2.1 for details).

MANAGEMENT OF MID-DAY MEAL

The system of management of Mid-Day Meal has some differences with that of the system followed in the rural areas. While the programme in the Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE) centres in Kolkata was run by some selected NGOs, the implementation in the KMC and KPSC-run schools was in the hands of Neighbourhood Committees (NHC) consisting of some Neighbourhood Groups. Each committee was given the responsibility of running the programme in a cluster of schools. The operational aspects included, maintaining the store, buying the materials for cooking and preparing the food in a central kitchen and making the food available to the schools under the cluster. Keeping the books and submitting the accounts to the concerned officials (not the teacher) was also included in their activities. The allotted

22 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal amount was released through cheque issued in favour of the respective committees. (In the rural areas, the teacher-in-charge has to take much of these responsibilities. Though cooking was done by the SHG members, the handling of fund, accounting, and even procuring of the materials was to be done by the teacher-in-charge.). The role of the teacher-in-charge in the Kolkata primary schools as regards the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal was supervisory in nature.

CENTRAL KITCHEN

The concept of a central kitchen has been discussed in the Guidelines of Revised National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education 2004 which indicated the possibility of running a central kitchen in the urban areas with the involvement of NGOs.21 In Kolkata, the Central Government’s concept of a central kitchen by the NGOs has been in operation only in the AIE centres. In the primary schools the central kitchen was run by the NHCs. As most of the primary schools in Kolkata suffered from severe space constraint, the central kitchen proved to be very useful in avoiding this difficulty. However, this arrangement has some other disadvantages. For example, the school-specific kitchen in the rural areas has offered much larger scope for parental participation in the process of MDM and eventually in the functioning of schools. But, given the practical difficulties in the urban areas, the compromise was, perhaps, unavoidable. Nevertheless, although the central kitchen has been effective in eliminating the space constraint, it has its negative implication on the cooking agencies as they have to bear an additional cost in the form of transportation of the food to the schools. With the severely low amount of conversion cost allocated (more on this presently), this additional cost was found to have a negative bearing on the NHC.

23 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

THE ACCEPTANCE OF MID-DAY MEAL

Our field observations brought out very clearly that the programme, despite its limited implementation, has exerted a very positive impact on the society. We present below the perceptions of the different sections involved in the programme — the children, parents and the teachers.

ACCEPTANCE AMONG THE CHILDREN

Most of the children interviewed were found to accept the Mid-Day Meal scheme welcomingly. While it was essential for the children who remained hungry most of the time, almost all other children, irrespective of their background, were found to enjoy the sharing of food. Despite having complaints on the quality of the meal served

(more on this presently), children found this a sort of extra- curricular activity. However, a section of the children, belonging to the relatively affluent section, were inclined to skip the meal, mainly because of the poor quality. It was found that some such children who used to share the Mid-Day Meal had now stopped doing so as the quality had deteriorated. However, they appeared keen to share the meal if the quality was improved. 24

A

though more influential. weak. On the contrary, opposed it were small in number, those who programme. voices demanding cookedThe food were many but the have a powerfully negative impact on the implementation of schooling. approach seemed to This compromise with the quality of cooked meal was a areas,apprehended that the implementation of in the rural the programme the launching of in the initial phase of belonged to the weaker sections. section, as happened affluent The economic status, their voice was more powerful than those who A okalto ntaiefrteitouto fMDM in his school. initiativefor the introduction of took a lot of found to be negative. reportedly A teacherVidyapith in Bastuhara some were the programme, supportive of some wereWhile very cooked meal. teachers foundThe were to be divided on the issue of ration, the Mid-Day Meal be continued in the schools with improved quality. the parents demanded that and the children was genuine. Many of the parents of cooks conceded that the grumbling the food. The of the poor quality against the poor also grumbled background, affluent them had a relatively a majority of While the meal. quality of Mid-Day Meal programme”. the to co-operate, of according to our capabilities, in the running the food together,” a parent. Not only this,“We asserted ready are that all the childreneconomic reasons; important take it is also very introduced without any delay. “Mid-Day Meal is effective for the schools to launch yet the scheme, they wanted this to be was parents wanted operational, it to continue and improve, and in positive view on the scheme. In the schools where the programme It was the poor, the parents, evident to us that had a very particularly

CCEPTANCE CCEPTANCE There was a section of parents, however, a dry who preferred was There a section of complaints about the the parents had a lot of However, most of 22

instead of cooked Mid-Day Meal. Because of the socio- cooked Mid-Day Meal. Because of instead of

AMONG AMONG

The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal Report Pratichi The

THE THE

TEACHERS PARENTS 25 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal To induce confidence among the parents, the teachers of that school used to taste the cooked meal publicly. But some were found to be against the cooked programme, despite recognising its beneficial aspects. For example, in a school where the programme was not yet launched, the enrolment of children started falling when students migrated to a neighbouring school where cooked food was served. Yet, the teacher was not ready to accept the cooked meal programme in her school. Instead, she thought that some sort of dry food should be distributed among the children. Similarly, another teacher maintained that classroom hunger made the children inattentive in the late hours of the school and the teachers were compelled to close the school before the scheduled closing time. Yet, he was found to be reluctant to introduce MDM in his school. There was indeed an undercurrent of resistance among many of the teachers. The teachers’ unions, particularly the ABPTA, were found to have started playing a major role in launching the programme. Nevertheless, it has to go a long way in popularising it.

HURDLES TO OVERCOME

There is no doubt that the programme has been accepted by the children, their parents and a section of the teachers. The reservations on the programme were mainly connected with the practical problems in its implementation. It was only a miniscule section that opposed the essence and objective of the programme. The recognition of the importance of the programme by the teachers’ unions has motivated them to implement the programme in right earnest. While recognising these positive aspects, it is crucially important to identify and eliminate the problems debilitating the implementation of the programme in Kolkata. Some of the major problems are discussed below: 1. Quality of the food: the major problem involved with the programme, as observed by the research team, was the poor, in some cases, unpalatable, quality of the Mid-Day Meal. Often, it was complained that the quality of rice served was of utterly inferior

26 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

quality (because of the poor quality of rice supplied). The quality of pulses and other vegetables was also no better. 2. Lower fund allocation: The main reason for the poor quality reported was the inadequacy of fund. Given the tremendous increase in the prices of commodities, the conversion cost (Rs 2.50 per child) paid was reported to be too insufficient. “Is it possible to provide good quality with such a paltry sum?” asked a cook. In addition to this, which was a general problem all over the state, the problem became acute in Kolkata as the cooking agencies needed to pay the transportation cost too. The amount paid for cooking was also too small (however, there has been some enhancement very recently). In fact, the wage paid to the cooks was less than the government declared minimum wage. Again, it was an injustice towards the cooks all over the state. This problem has been raised time and again in the public meetings organised by the Pratichi (India)) Trust. While this was a general problem for the state as a whole, in Kolkata it had a particular bearing as the prospective cooks enjoyed better income opportunity (working as household assistants, etc), which made it difficult for the implementing agencies to get the cooks. 3. Delay in fund release: A major hindrance for the implementation of the programme was reported to be the delay in releasing funds. “This often makes us buy the required stuff on credit; but sometimes the grocers refuse to give the materials without ready payment,” said a member of the implementing agency. In fact, this has been one of the major reasons for the discontinuation of the programme in some schools. “Carrying it out on credit was taken for granted; but how can such a system sustain?” asked an NHC member. 4. Constraints in supply of fuel: Another major problem for the cooking agencies was reported to be the difficulty and harassment involved in procuring cooking gas. The gas agencies allegedly insisted on procuring commercial-purpose cylinders of 19 kg, which was very expensive, instead of the domestic-use cylinders (14 kgs), which cost much less. Given the lower allocation on fuel, the higher charge for commercial-purpose cylinders posed a huge difficulty for the NHC in managing the implementation. Apart from this, the gas agencies often reported to have harassed the implementing agencies while supplying 27 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

gas. In one area, the programme had to be stopped, reportedly due to the uncooperative attitude of the gas agencies.. 5. Lack of larger participation: With the lower fund allocation and other policy problems, the implementation of the programme was adversely affected by the lack of larger participation of various agencies, including the elected representatives, local institutions (clubs), parents and local communities. The level of such participation, a feature in the rural areas, was found to be very low in the city. No conscious effort of bringing larger communities together to improve the implementation of the programme was found. This apart, some local- level political intricacies seemed to have played a role in restricting the level of participation. In some areas, it was reported that the elected members were involved in the implementation. But this was not the case in some other areas. As to why this variation took place, there were contradictory explanations: some groups said that the elected members belonging to a different political group did not take any interest in taking part in the process, while another group alleged that they were not made part of it. Secondly, the KPSC and KMC were the de facto monitoring agencies. The inspectors of school of the two bodies were supposed to look after this important work. While it was reported that the inspectors of the KMC schools had played a relatively effective role in their work, it was not the case with the KPSC inspectors. As a teacher told us, the KMC inspector discussed with them and took note of the problems involved in the implementation of the programme, but such a mediatory role played by the KPSC inspectors was reported to be limited. Again, we were told that the inspectors of the KMC schools paid some efforts to expand the programme to the uncovered schools, but this finding did not have general applicability for the KPSC inspectors. From the above discussion it is clear that, (a) the relevance and urgency of the Mid-Day Meral programme in Kolkata is as higher as elsewhere; the acceptance of the programme by various quarters, even in its limited realisation, proves this point; (b) difficulties in making arrangements such as space for cooking could be resolved

28 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal through some innovative ideas like having a central kitchen organised by neighbourhood committees, which, again, is a new contribution to the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal programme, and (c) the paucity of resources (pitiable budget allocation) on the one hand and the lack of a social audit system (through community involvement) has had a negative effect on the quality of the meal which, again, has supplied energy to the resisting voices, (d) the lower coverage of the programme has also had some negative impact on the existing programme — the experiences of the rural areas show that the wider coverage of the programme had helped generate debate and discussion among different sections of the society, and (e) finally, the lower coverage of the programme is not linked with the “perceived” operational difficulties, although they are there, but the main cause of the under-coverage is the lack of political will. The Kolkata primary schools are mainly attended by children from the poor and voiceless and, thus, neglected sections of society. There is a strong case for changing this attitude and bringing to the fore the positive lessons (central kitchen by NHC, etc) to expand the programme on an urgent basis.

29 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF MID-DAY MEAL AT THE UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF WEST BENGAL

Monica Murmu is a student of Class VIII of Hatimari High School in Gazole block of Malda district. The Mid-Day Meal programme, which was launched in the school in October 2008, was stopped after running for a few months. “I used to enjoy it; so did my friends”, said Monica. She could not bring anything for lunch from home, nor could she buy anything from the vendors as there was no money. “So, my stomach remains empty for the whole school time… I feel very hungry, but what to do? I can only eat after reaching home, which is far away.” So, she has to rush on empty stomach, which makes her feel weak: “Shorir klanto lage, porte mon boshe na. Khabar jokhon dito tokhon bhalo lagto” (I feel weak and could not concentrate on the lessons. That was not the case when food was provided in the school.”) The above experience clearly suggests the prevalence of classroom hunger and its intrinsic relation with the education of a child. It also reaffirms the possible scope of the government- sponsored Mid-Day Meal programme as the best solution to eliminate classroom hunger. The National Programme of providing cooked Mid-Day Meal was extended in the upper primary schools in about 3479 educationally backward blocks of the country in 2007 and was expected to have a universal coverage by 2008-09. But at the end of 2008-09 (December 31, 2008)23 the scheme practically covered only about 54 per cent of the upper primary schools and a meagre 36.6 per cent of the children in West Bengal (as opposed to 89.2 per cent of the upper primary schools and 69.6 per cent of the upper primary children in India, as on September 30, 2008)24 .

30 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

MID-DAY MEAL AT THE UPPER PRIMARY LEVEL: FIELD OBSERVATIONS

The responses of children, parents and teachers show the tremendous potential of the Mid-Day Meal, particularly in eliminating classroom hunger at the upper primary schools. As a general case, the inadequacy in the number of upper primary schools in West Bengal makes a school cater to a wider area. Many of the children, thus, come to attend the schools from quite a distance. Moreover, a large number of children come from such backgrounds that they cannot bring something from home for lunch. Again, one section of the students come to the school even without having any food at home. Monica, we have referred to above, is not an isolated case — we have come across many such children during the fieldwork . The urgency of the programme was reinforced again and again during the fieldwork. Despite such urgency and the Central Government’s decision to implement the scheme, the coverage in West Bengal, as mentioned earlier in this report, has been rather low. In the two districts covered under this study, the coverage was slightly better than the state average (see table 3.1). However, within the districts, there were some block-level variations. While in Birbhum the range of coverage varies between 88 per cent and 23 per cent of the schools, in Malda the range was between 100 per cent and 41 per cent (see table 3.2). There was no clear explanation for this variation in the coverage. Rather, it was observed that the implementation depended largely on the individual initiatives of some local authorities, such as BDO. Again, as we have seen in some of the schools, the programme ended abruptly within a few months of its launch. There are various problems afflicting the programme. But, as our study found, there was an equally – if not more – important aspect associated with the programme. It is the wider acceptance of the programme among several sections of the villagers.

31 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal Table-3.1.Coverage of Mid-Day Meal scheme in Birbhum and Malda at the Upper Primary level

Total No. No. of No. of % of No. of % of of School Students schools schools students students serving serving having having MDM MDM MDM MDM Birbhum (as on May 2009) 501 178503 316 63.1 98911 55.4 Malda (as on July 2009) 421 N.A. 259 61.5 103455 N.A. West Bengal (as on March 2009)11333 4352132 6116 54.0 1591276 36.6

Source: Office of the District Magistrate, Birbhum; Office of the District Magistrate, Malda; School Education Department, Govt. of West Bengal

Table-3.2. Coverage of Mid-Day Meal Scheme at the Upper Primary level in the visited blocks of Birbhum and Malda Districts Blocks No. of Enrolment No. of Per cent No. of Per cent schools* schools covered students covered running covered MDM Birbhum Bolpur Sriniketan 40 13492 9 22.5 927 6.9 Rajnagar 13 4070 6 46.1 1185 29.1 Nalhati 17 8262 15 88.2 7510 90.9 Malda Kaliachok 32 N.A. 25 78.1 10862 N.A. III Chachol II 27 N.A. 27 100 9540 N.A. Gazole 42 N.A. 17 40.5 5371 N.A.

Source: Office of the District Magistrate, Birbhum, as on May 2009/ Office of the District Magistrate, Malda as on June 2009 * The figures of total schools in the blocks of Malda district were collected from the office of the respective BDOs.

32 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal

WIDER ACCEPTANCE

The major impact of the cooked meal scheme in the upper primary level was reported to be the precious nutrition support provided to the children. As was reported by the teachers, poor children, especially girls, majority of whom belonged to the SC, ST and Muslim communities, were the greatest beneficiaries. Nevertheless, there were some sections, mainly belonging to upper classes, who expressed their reservation on the Mid-Day Meal at the upper primary level. Notwithstanding the reservations, the wider public in the rural areas seemed to have accepted the programme as a relevant intervention. Presented below is how the different groups – children, parents, teachers, self-help group (SHG) members and others – have received the programme.

VIEWS OF CHILDREN

“Which side the sun rises?” asked a teacher to a Class V child. “I don’t care, give me the food first”, pat replied the little girl. She was so hungry that she could not concentrate on the lessons. The story was narrated to us by the teacher himself, who remembered it as an exceptional case. The literary value of the conversation might have been exceptional, but the content of it was found to be common. A section of the students were found to have come to school without eating anything at home; such cases – no matter the magnitude – were found in almost all the schools visited. Almost all the children appeared to be very keen on taking the Mid-Day Meal. When asked whether they liked the MDM or not, only a small fraction said that they did not like it. The students of the schools where Mid-Day Meal has been stopped or not yet started were very much eager to know whether the MDM programme would start soon in their school or not. The disliking, however, was caused mainly by the monotonous and insipid menu (Khichuri), or due to the unhygienic way in which the food was cooked in some of the schools. A few of the Muslim girls told us that they at times felt shy to sit together with the boys to share the food. Sometimes the quantity of the food also seemed to matter. 33 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal Lutfa Khatun is a student of Class VII of Jadupur High School in Chachol II Block of Malda. Her father works as a jute thresher in the village, and the wages earned are paltry. The income can hardly sustain the family. Yet, Lutfa does not take the meal served in the school. “It is so little in quantity that it can have no effect to assuage hunger. The little amount of food served actually increases the hunger. Therefore, I do not eat the meal.”

VIEWS OF PARENTS

The general response about the impact of the Mid-Day Meal programme in the schools was found to be positive. A majority of the parents interviewed welcomed the MDM programme. For them, “It is a sort of gift of God to the needy”. Not only that, the health of their children has also reportedly improved. Now, they can pay much more attention on their agricultural work without having to worry about preparing food for their children. Those who appeared indifferent towards the programme formed a small section and generally belonged to the relatively well-off section of the society. We were told that many of the children took some food at home (in the form of rice, chapatti, puffed rice, parched rice etc.) before coming to the school. But there was a section of children who could not be provided with any food before coming to the school. For the parents of those children the programme came as a special livelihood support, as it not only provided nutritional support to the children but also enabled them to save some money from their household budget. Apart from the general relevance, the programme was reported to have special benefits for the children attending schools from distant villages. In addition to the provision of nutrition for the children, the programme made some other impacts like reducing the gap of social distances (caste, religion, gender etc.) as in some cases children of different identities were reported or seen to have shared the food together, despite the various social inhibitions present in the society. In some cases, even the children defied the instructions given by their elders not to eat with the children with lowly background or of other castes. 34 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal Most of the parents interviewed supported the cooked MDM programme highlighting specifically its need in the rural areas. Only a few wanted this programme to be either replaced by dry food or stopped. As to why they wanted the programme to stop, the following reasons were given: z Firstly, a few of the Hindu high caste parents said that they might lose their caste purity if their children sat and shared cooked food with children who have a lower social background. z Secondly, the parents who suggested stopping the programme said that they did not send their children to the school on empty stomach. They were confident that they could feed their children with much better quality food than what was served in the school. They fear that their children may fall sick taking the ‘poor’ quality food at the school. Sanjay Tudu, father of Sunil Tudu of Class VIII of Hatimari High School was repenting as the cooked meal served in the school has suddenly stopped. It not only helped in providing the required food during the lunch period, but also resulted in increasing the concentration of the children. When we asked him whether he had any suggestions to improve the scheme, including the choice of MDM, he firmly answered,“bhat tai bhalo khabar, onyo kichu noy.Gram ghorer chhele ar ki khabe? - (Cooked rice is the best food, nothing else. What else do the village people eat?”) Also, a majority of the parents were ready to extend voluntary help in the arrangement of the MDM programme. Most of them were willing to offer free labour or help by supervising the cooking and serving of food.

VIEWS OF TEACHERS

Teachers, in general, said that the programme has had a positive impact, particularly in terms of nutritional support to the lowest stratum of the population. According to the Headteacher of a school, “ Many of the students, mostly girls, reported giddiness and even fainted during the school hour as they had to remain on empty 35 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal stomach for a long time. Neither did they take any food before coming to the school nor could they manage to take any food during the lunch break as they could not afford it. The launching of the MDM programme has solved this problem to a great extent”. However, one section of the teachers was found to be explicitly opposing the programme. Some of them said that, running the programme in the school distracted the students’ attention from studying to the cooking and eating of food. They also complained that the serving of MDM demanded a lot of time, which disturbed teaching-learning activities in the school. Some teachers were found to be unwilling to start the Mid-day Meal programme in the school where it was not yet started or were reluctant to continue it in the school where it was already in operation. In a particular case, the Headteacher confessed that they were strictly against starting the MDM programme in the school. Finally, they had to introduce it under pressure from the implementing authority, as all the schools in that block had already started the programme. The complaint on short lunch break might be relevant in some schools, but, we have come across some schools with huge

36 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal enrolment both in Birbhum and Malda, which managed the serving of food quite successfully within the stipulated time.

Enrolment in Classes V to VIII in the Brahmankhanda Basapara High School was 1203. The average number of children taking the Mid-Day Meal was reported to be 700. The teacher-in-charge and the cooks reached the school everyday at around 7.30 a.m. The whole process of cooking got completed before 1 p.m. and the children finished their food within 35 minutes. The Assistant Headteacher said in a public meeting arranged by the Pratichi (India) Trust, “I feel happy running the Mid-Day Meal programme. I sit with the students in the last bach and eat.” The management system developed in this school can be valuable for others. In another school visited by the Pratichi Research Tem, Bhagabanpur KBS High School of Malda district, the student strength of Class V-VIII was 1627. The average number of students taking the Mid-Day Meal was about 1200 and the programme was found to be running unhindered. At the initial stage, lack of basic infrastructure facilities, like kitchen, delayed the launching of the programme by two months. The school managing committee and the local panchayat took initiative to construct the kitchen shed. There was no major problem reported in running the programme.

If schools with such a huge enrolment and large number of children taking part in the Mid-Day Meal programme could run it well, there was no reason why schools with relatively moderate enrolment could not begin this scheme.

COOKING ARRANGEMENTS AND THE ROLE OF SHG (SELF-HELP GROUP)

The operational aspect of the programme was found to be in the hands of the women Self-Help Group (SHG) members. Aside from cooking, they were in charge of procuring the ingredients (vegetables, spices, etc.) and fuel required for preparing the meal. Payment of the conversion cost and wages for cooking was made directly to the groups through cheque. The teacher-in-charge

37 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal provided them the daily student attendance in the morning and they cooked the quantity accordingly. Some variations in terms of the number of groups arranging the MDM were found: a) A single group arranging the meal for Classes V-VIII. b) One group arranging the food for Class V and another for Classes VI–VIII together. c) In another case it was found that while one group was in charge of Class V and Class VI another group prepared food for the rest. d) Separate groups arranging meal for each of Classes V-VIII. The allotment of rice per child for Class V was 100 grams and for VI-VIII, it was 150 grams. The conversion cost per child (for fuel, vegetables, spices etc) was Rs 2.50 for Class V and Rs 3 for Classes VI-VIII. In almost all the schools it was reported that this conversion cost was found to be too inadequate to make a proper meal, taking into consideration the overall increase in the prices. The Standing Committee on Education, 2008-09, has suggested some measures before the Assembly of West Bengal to solve some of these problems, e.g. to increase the conversion cost and remuneration paid to the SHG (recently some enhancement has been made, but it is still inadequate). In a particular case, male members of the SHGs volunteered to carry the bags of rice and water to the top floor of the school, where temporary arrangement of cooking was made. Also, in many cases male SHG members were found to help the women groups in preparing the meals.

PROBLEMS INVOLVED

In spite of such wider acceptance and demand for Mid-Day Meal in the upper primary schools, some of the policies and shortcomings related to implementation seem to play a restricting role as regards the fuller utilisation of the potential of the

38 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal programme. Some of the major problems found by the study are mentioned below: 1.Definitional restriction : In the particular context of West Bengal, the schools are divided into two distinct categories: most of the primary schools have Classes I to IV, and most of the high schools have Classes V to X. Again, some of the high schools have plus 2 classes. During its initial implementation at the primary level, the Mid-Day Meal faced a problem in catering to the children of Class V as those classes were attached with the secondary level schools. Once the programme was launched in the secondary schools to serve the primary children (Class V) teachers and others associated with the programme found it very difficult to manage it as children of non-primary classes (VI and above) also wanted to share the meal. The same problem was now seen in the cases of upper primary and secondary division: since the government guideline was to serve the children up to Class VIII food could not be served to the children of higher classes. But many of the students of Classes IX and X, and even XI and XII reportedly demanded a meal. “Sometimes they [students of higher classes] wait in the queue, or sit in the batch when the food is served. And it is not possible for the SHG members to identify each of them in the whole lot. Also, if the students get identified, it is impossible to make them out of the line”, said a headteacher. Parents, SHG members, teachers and, above all, the students demanded immediate extension of the programme to the secondary and higher secondary level. 2. Lower Budget Allocation : A major problem in running the programme was the lower budget allocation for ingredients, fuel and wages for the cooks. We were told that the unprecedented rise in the prices had made it nearly impossible to serve a decent meal. The delay in payment of the conversion cost was reported to be a major constraint in running the programme. According to an SHG leader, this payment was made after a period of four 39 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal months, and that too for only two months. In almost all the cases, the ingredients were bought on credit. In some cases the SHG members even had to exhaust their own funds in order to continue the programme. It was found that in some of the schools the SHG members used to serve the food on sal leaf plates, but the constraint of fund had forced them to stop doing this. The honorarium paid to each SHG group was Rs.600. The meagreness of the amount was a major complaint raised in all the schools we visited. In most cases, the number of members engaged in cooking was five. So at the end of the month, each member received around Rs.120. This was not only a pittance but it also violated the government’s norm of minimum wage. The demand for enhancement of wages was heard from each and every SHG member and also the teachers. It was reported that in one of the schools the SHG associated with cooking Mid-Day Meal stopped working since June 2009 following the demand for an upward revision of their remuneration. The wage was not only meagre, there was much delay in making the payment also (as in the case of the conversion cost). 3.Poor Quality of Food : Lower allocation of fund, irregularity in supply and similar other causes led to serving of poor quality food. In most cases there were complaints by almost all the concerned on the quality of food. 4.Infrastructural shortages : In almost all the schools visited, the teachers highlighted the constraints such as inadequate cooking and dining space, insufficient utensils and storage facility and limited time allocated for serving the food. Most of the schools visited had no permanent kitchen shed. Nearly half had no kitchen shed at all. In such schools, a cycle shed or a dilapidated classroom or a thatched shed is used for cooking purposes as a stop-gap arrangement. Almost all the schools where Mid-Day Meal was served did not have any dining space and the food was served either in the veranda or in an abandoned classroom. Also, in many cases, the schools 40 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal lacked utensils and store-room facilities for cooking food materials and storing the cooked food. 5.Lack of scope for community involvement and social audit : In reality, there was no community involvement in running the Mid-Day Meal programme in the upper primary schools. In some cases, it was the unwillingness of the teacher and the reluctance of the implementing authority that acted as a hindrance in involving the communities. Apart from this, there were some other practical problems also. The upper primary schools we visited covered a wider area that made many children to come from distant villages. This made it difficult for their parents to get associated with the day-to-day functioning of the schools. Nevertheless, involvement of the communities on a periodic basis could be a possibility.

SUMMING UP

The urgency and relevance of serving the cooked Mid-Day Meal is beyond question. But its inadequate coverage in the upper primary schools is a matter of serious concern, which seems to be caused by the lack of will at different levels. It is hard to overlook the operational problems in carrying out the programme in the upper primary schools, but the political commitment or the lack thereof cannot be ignored while studying the issue. A little enhancement in fund allocation can make a major difference in the quality of meal. There is no reason why this cannot be done or the fund cannot be supplied in time or the payment to the cooks cannot be enhanced. There is a serious need for re-organising the allocation, infrastructure facilities and regularising the fund. Apart from the policy issues, it is important to take note of some of the ground realities. Our experiences of the primary schools show that organising the local people and making them actively involved can really be a stimulating factor in the introduction and successful continuation of the Mid-Day Meal programme. Also, the management system developed by some of the upper primary

41 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal schools could be very helpful in showing how to tackle the operational problems. Diagnosing the problems are very important. Equally important, if not more, is to recognise the positive experiences and the possible difference they can make.

42 4. A CONCLUDING REMARK

This study can well be concluded with the words of Dreze and Goel: “The experience so far clearly shows that mid-day meals have much to contribute to the well-being and future of Indian children. As things stand, the Mid-Day Meal programme has many flaws, but the way to go is forward and not backward.”25 The main point is that the possibilities of this programme far outweigh the problems involved in its operation. On the one hand, it has given a tremendous impetus to the parental aspiration of acquiring education by their children. On the other hand, it has offered the opportunity of ending classroom hunger and eventually under- nutrition among the children. That the programme has had a strong impact on the parents of the primary school children came up in our earlier studies. The present study found its expansion among the parents – both in urban and rural areas. The limited implementation of the scheme in the urban primary schools and the urban upper primary schools has helped in reducing classroom hunger to some extent. And this achievement calls for further expansion of the programme to cover all children, not only up to the primary level but also up to the secondary level. The problems involved in its implementation were found to have much similarity with the problems faced at the primary level as were reported in our earlier studies26 . They included, (a) poor quality of meal, that resulted out of lower allocation and some other operational problems; (b) lower remuneration to the self-help groups involved in cooking, (c) delay in making the funds available, (d) lack of infrastructure, such as kitchen shed and dining space, (e) lesser scope of public participation, and so on. Some public attention on

43 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal these problems has already been attracted27 , but a lot more needs to be done. It requires a firm political conviction in order to (a) universalise the programme and (b) remove the constraints still affecting its implementation.

44 NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Guidelines of the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, launched in August, 1995; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Scheme, New Delhi. 2. M S Swaminathan Research Foundation & World Food Programme (2008): Report on the State of Food Insecurity in Rural India, Chennai. 3. Right to Food Campaign (2005): Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food : A Tool for Action, New Delhi. 4. Rana K (2004); ‘‘The Possibilities of Mid-day Meal Programme in West Bengal’’, paper presented at the workshop on West Bengal : Challenges and Choices, organised by the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta on 27-28 July; Rana K (2007); Akhsharer Khamata Khamatar Akhshar, CAMP, Kolkata. 5. Minutes of the Meeting of the Programme Approval Board for Mid-Day Meal Scheme on March 26, 2009; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi. 6. Pratichi Research Team (2004): Pratichi Sikhsha Pratibedan, Dey’s Publishing, Kolkata. 7. See, Pratichi Research Team (2005): The Impact of Mid-Day Meal Programme in West Bengal, www.righttofoodindia.org; Rana K (2004), “The Possibilities of Mid-day Meal Programme in West Bengal” paper presented at the workshop on West Bengal: Challenges and Choices, organized by the Centre for Social Sciences, Calcutta, on 27 and 28 July 2004; Pratichi Research Team (2007): Mid-Day Meal and Beyond: Primary Education in West Bengal (mimeo) and citations therein for some other studies that corroborate our findings. Various public workshops organised by the Trust on the issue of Mid-Day Meal have also strengthened the findings. 8. Minutes of the Meeting of the Programme Approval Board for Mid-Day Meal Scheme on March 26, 2009; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi

45 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal 9. No. F. 1(1)/2007/Desk (MDM): Ministry of Human Resource Deve- lopment, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi. 10.Minutes of the Meeting of the Programme Approval Board for Mid-Day Meal Scheme on March 26, 2009; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi. 11.Annual Work Plan and Budget 2009-10 (National); Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi. 12. Ibid. 13. Pratichi Research Team (2009) : The Pratichi Education Report II : Primary Education in West Bengsl : Changes and Challenges, Pratichi Trust, Delhi and Kolkata. 14. The Pratichi Trust has been organising since 2002 large public workshops involving parents, teachers and others in order to initiate debates and discussions on the issues of primary education, public health and gender equality. 15. With the partnership of All Bengal Primary Teachers’ Association (ABPTA), we have been engaged in building a public initiative in primary education in Kolkata. 16. Census of India 2001. 17. Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics (2006): District Statistical Handbook Kolkata 2006, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata. 18. Census of India 2001. 19. Ibid. 20. See, Pratichi Research Team (2006): Public Private Interface in the Primary Schooling System: A Study in West Bengal; Pratichi (India) Trust, Delhi and Santiniketan. 21 Guidelines of Revised National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, 2004; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi. 22 The nutritional impact of dry snacks had also been questioned and it was seen that this impact was likely to be far lower compared to a cooked meal.See, Baru et al (2008 ): “Full Meal or Package Deal?” in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol XLIII No 24, June 14-20, 2008. 23. Minutes of the Meeting of the Programme Approval Board for Mid-Day Meal Scheme on March 26, 2009; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Govt. of India, Mid- day Meal Division, New Delhi.

46 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal 24. Annual Work Plan and Budget 2009-10 (National); Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi. 25. Dreze Jean and Aparajita Goel (2003): ‘Future of Mid-Day Meals’ in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol XXXVIII No 44, November 1-7, 2003. 26. Pratichi Trust (2005): The Impact of Mid-Day Meal Programme in West Bengal, www.righttofoodindia.org; Rana K (2004), “The Possibilities of Mid-day Meal Programme in West Bengal” paper presented at the workshop on West Bengal: Challenges and Choices, organized by the Centre for Social Sciences, Calcutta, on 27 and 28 July 2004; Pratichi Trust (2007): Mid-Day Meal and Beyond: Primary Education in West Bengal (mimeo); Pratichi Research Team (2009): The Pratichi Education Report II: Primary Education in West Bengal – Changes and Challenges, with an Introduction by Amartya Sen, Pratichi Trust, Delhi and Kolkata. 27. Report of the Standing Committee on Education, placed before the West Bengal Assembly on July 14, 2009; Government of West Bengal, Kolkata.

47 PERSONS OTHER THAN THE PARENTS, CHILDREN AND SHG MEMBERS MET

N.N. Burman, Project Director (MDM), School Education Department, Govt. of West Bengal Kartick Manna, Chairman, KPSC Kalyani Mitra, MIC-Education, KMC Bishnupada Ghosh, Councillor, Ward No.2, KMC Namita Das, Councillor, Ward No.3, KMC Biren Chakraborty, Councillor, Ward No.57, KMC Shyamadas Roy, Councillor, Ward No.126, KMC Ratna Roy Majumder, Councillor, Ward No.128, KMC Anjula Roy, Head Teacher, Rishi Bankim Vidyapith, Kolkata Sitaram Murai, Assistant Teacher, Sree Neheru Vidyapith, Kolkata Rathindranath Bhattacharya, Headteacher, Belgachia Swamiji Siksha Niketan GSFP, Kolkata Alpana Bera, Head Teacher, Belgachia Monohar Academy, Kolkata Lakshmi Roy, Head Teacher, Bastuhara Vidyapith, Kolkata Rabindra Chandra Das, Teacher-in-Charge, Jayasree Vidyaniketan, Kolkata Shukla Roy, Head Teacher, Bangamoni Vidyapith, Kolkata Moonmoon Mukherjee, Assistant Teacher, Sobhasona Smriti G.S, Kolkata Md. Shahab Afsar, Teacher-in-Charge, KMCP School (UDB), Kolkata 48 The Pratichi Report on Mid-Day Meal Akhil Bhattacharya, Head Teacher, KMCP School, Kolkata Kamaksha Prasad Das, Teacher-in-charge, Laujore High School, Birbhum Ashimesh Ghosh, Mukhya Somprosarok,Bandi Madhyamik Siksha Kendra, Birbhum Sitaram Mondal, Head Teacher, Panchshowa Rabindra Vidyapith, Birbhum Aditi Majumdar, Head Teacher, Binuria Sumitra Balika Vidyalaya, Birbhum Bamapada Das, Head Teacher, Bhadrapur Maharaja Nandakumar High School, Birbhum Prasanta Kumar Ghosh, Head Teacher, Hatimari High School, Malda Ramala Here, Assistant Teacher, Eklakhi Mission Girls High School, Malda Angshuman Jha, Head Teacher, Baishnabnagar High School, Malda Md. Ahosanul Islam, Head Teacher, Bhagobanpur KBS High School, Malda Gani Khan, Assistant Teacher, Jodupur High School, Malda Azharul Islam, Assistant Teacher, Jalalpur HRA High School, Malda Tapas Kumar Mondal, B.D.O. Nalhati II, Birbhum Debanshu Ganguly, B.D.O. Rajnagar, Birbhum Indradeb Bhattacharya, B.D.O. Chachol II, Malda S. Santra, B.D.O. Gazole, Malda Gopal Chandra Das, B.D.O. Kaliachok III, Malda

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