Self-Help Groups knocked on the doors of the Education Department on Wednesday, demanding payment of bills pending since June this year. Stating that it was not economically viable under the current pricing, the SHGs cautioned officials about discontinuing their mid-day supplies. Bills pending for five months speak poorly of a system constantly propagating children's well-being, nutrition, and holistic development. The appeals of SHGs for payments and a rate revision to match the inflation and rising costs of essential commodities and vegetables appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
Consider this. An SHG is paid Rs 6.11 per 100 gm meal (for classes 1 to 5) consisting of Vegetable Pulao, Vegetable 'Bhajji', a 'Chapatti', and one 'Idli'. The cost varies marginally for classes 6 to 8 since the quantity of the same menu is upscaled to 150 gms. The cost is inclusive of manpower and transportation/delivery to respective schools.
Ironically, nearly 1,800 students in Canacona's Agonda and Khola panchayat areas were deprived of supplies this month because the provider found it uneconomical to continue under the prevailing conditions. Furthermore, Self-Help Groups who supplied packaged ration items like 'chana', rice and oil during the pandemic days when schools were shut have yet to be paid. That means a good 138 days of supplies in 2020-21 is still in arrears. That's not all. The people deployed at various schools to facilitate the distribution of meals are yet to be paid too.
It is a shame that nutrition, considered an essential component in academics and linked to students' health and behaviour, is given such third-grade treatment. The mid-day meal scheme, which came into force in 1995, should have been flawless till now. Cut into 2022, and on the one hand, we hear talks of improving education and introducing coding and robotics and other advancements, but on the other side, an uncertainty about basic meals is left hanging on students. The theory of the overall development of children sounds hollow.
Now, picture this contrast. On Wednesday, while a group of SHGs were pleading before the Education Department for their rightful dues of five months, two brand-new bullet-proof vehicles costing crores of rupees were being inducted into the Goa Police in Panaji for the security of VIPs and VVIPs. This may not be an apt comparison, but it is evident that the scales of disparity are tilted against the common man.
Interestingly, following news reports, the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has initiated an inquiry into the mid-day meals issue. In a letter issued to the Director of Education, the chairman of the Commission has held that it would infringe on children's right to food while also mentioning an indirect violation of the Right to Education. We need to understand why the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights did not swing into action when nearly 2,000 students were denied their mid-day meals in Canacona. Was that not a failure of the system and a violation of the fundamental rights of these students? Is a threat more severe than something that is already put into action?
The State must take nutrition very seriously and not make a mockery of it. Kerala has just appointed three private consultants to surveil the scheme's implementation. There can't be compromises on supplies and food quality for children, and it's time the Education Department gets its act together.
