Mid-Day Meals in India

Dr. Ambadas

• Mid Day Meal in schools has had a long history in India. In 1925, a Mid Day Meal Programme was introduced for disadvantaged children in Madras Municipal Corporation. By the mid 1980s three States viz. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the UT of Pondicherry had universalized a cooked Mid Day Meal Programme with their own resources for children studying at the primary stage

• By 1990-91 the number of States implementing the mid day meal programme with their own resources on a universal or a large scale had increased to twelve states.

Brief History

• to enhancing enrollment, retention and attendance improving nutritional levels among children

• National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE)

• 15th August 1995, initially in 2408 blocks in the country, By the year 1997-98 the NP-NSPE was introduced in all blocks of the country.

• 2002 to cover not only children in classes I-V of government, government aided and local body schools, but also children studying in EGS

• and AIE centres. • Central Assistance under the scheme consisted of free

supply of food grains @ 100 grams per child per school day, and subsidy for transportation of food grains up to a

• maximum of Rs 50 per quintal.

• The objectives of the mid day meal scheme are:• (i) Improving the nutritional status of children in

classes I – VIII in Government, Local Body and Government aided schools, and EGS and AIE centres.

• (ii) Encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.

• (iii) Providing nutritional support to children of primary stage in drought-affected areas during summer vacation.

MDM Implementation status in 2003

Source: Drèze and Goyal (2003)

• Accordin got the MOH&FW The Mid Day Meal is the world’s largest school feeding programme reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools/EGS centres across the country.

• Current cooked mid day meal provides-• Components Primary Upper Primary• Calories 450 Cal 700 Cal• Protein 12 gms. 20 gms.• Micro-nutrients Adequate quantities

of micro-nutrients like Iron, Folic Acid , Vitamin-A etc.

• Enrolment, retention and attendance

• Nutritional impact

• Socialization and Educational benefits

• Social benefits (esp. for women)

• Form of Income support

• Enrolment: Big gains, especially for girls and children of other disadvantaged groups (SCs and STs).

•Attendance and rentention: Limited evidence on improvement but measurement issues make it difficult to capture these effects.

• Prescribed food quantity • 300 grams of grain & 8-12 grams of protein

• Increased to 450 grams of grain and 12 grams of protein in the 2006 Guidelines

Requirements of children aged 5 years are very different from the requirements of children aged 10 years.

• Components Primary Upper Primary• Calories 450 Cal 700 Cal• Protein 12 gms. 20 gms.

• Depends on: • Menu (plain boiled rice) • Cooking practices • Hygiene conditions (kitchens, drinking water)

• With the introduction of a varied menu, recent research suggests that improved menus have an impact.

• Improved menus meet up to 22% of RDA as opposed to 11% where the old menu was served

(Source: Chhindwara Study in Madhya Pradesh, Afridi, 2005)

• Socialization (Eating together)

• Overcoming caste discrimination(Denial of food to Scheduled caste children, Segregated seating, separate food/utensils for children of different castes)

• Inculcating hygienic habits (Washing hands and utensils before and after eating, eating together)

• Impact on learning:• Eliminates classroom hunger - children able to concentrate better as many children would come to school on an empty stomach

• Makes school environment more fun

• Realization of benefits depended crucially on adequate infrastructure being in place

• Kitchens, utensils for cooking and serving• Cooks, helpers, organizers• Drinking water, wood for fuel on/near school premises

• Procurement practices

• No kitchens, no cooks, no utensils, no water, when it was operationalised in 2002

• Improvements since then• Most schools have water and utensils now

• Separate kitchens still an issue

• Scattered instances of community

• parents contributed towards improving menus, or purchase of utensils

• Self-help groups• In urban areas, involvement of NGOs

• Main thrust from the government

• CorruptionRecent reports on pilferage of grain by inflating enrolment records

• The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development

• Arrangements for local level monitoring:• Display of Information under Right to

Information Act:• Inspections by State Government Officers:• Responsibility of Food Corporation of India

(FCI):• Monitoring by Institutions of Social Science

Research:

• Review Missions• Committees• Fund Flow• Availability • Satisfaction• Records• Suggestions

• The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development

• Professor Amartya Sen’s Pratichi Research Team (2005).

• UNICEF (2005):• University of Rajsthan• University of Dharwad (2005)• National Council of Educational Research & Training• National Institute of Public Cooperation & Child

Development• Planning Commission

• increasing the quantity of pulses from 25 to 30 grams, vegetables from 65 to 75 grams and by decreasing the quantity of oil and fat from 10 grams to 7.5 grams.

• Cooking cost (excluding the labour and administrative charges) has been revised from Rs.1.68 to to Rs. 2.69 for primary and from Rs. 2.20 to Rs. 4.03 for upper primary children.

• A Separate component for Payment of honorarium @ Rs.1000 per month per cook- cum-helper was introduced 

• Changes in strategies for difficult geographical terrain of the Special category States for the transportation cost.

• Decentralization of payment of cost of foodgrains to the FCI at the district level