PANAJI
Nearly one in every three schools in Goa has reported serving mid-day meals to fewer than 80 per cent of its enrolled students, raising concerns about attendance, meal uptake, and reporting under the flagship PM-POSHAN nutrition scheme.
Adding to the concern, only 29 per cent of schools enrolled under the scheme have uploaded their data on the Management Information System (MIS), a mandatory requirement prescribed by the Union Ministry of Education.
According to the PM POSHAN MIS portal, of the total 1,086 schools enrolled under the scheme in Goa, only 317 had uploaded data as of July 31, reflecting a reporting rate of just 29.19 per cent. These schools reported meal coverage below the 80 per cent benchmark.
South Goa fared worse than North Goa, with 177 of its 580 enrolled schools (30.52 per cent) recording meal coverage below 80 per cent, compared to 140 of 506 schools (27.67 per cent) in North Goa.
Among the talukas, Salcete emerged as the worst performer, with 45.19 per cent of schools reporting meal coverage below the benchmark, followed by Sattari (41.86 per cent), Quepem (30.43 per cent), Sanguem (30.36 per cent) and Ponda (29.56 per cent).
In contrast, Canacona (20.25 per cent), Bardez (20.34 per cent) and Bicholim (22.11 per cent) recorded the lowest proportion of schools falling below the threshold.
The PM POSHAN portal categorises such schools under its "Exceptional Reports" section, flagging institutions where the number of meals served falls below a specified percentage of enrolment for monitoring and follow-up. However, the portal does not specify the reasons for the shortfall, which could range from student absenteeism and lower meal uptake to delayed data reporting or discrepancies in enrolment figures.
Under the PM POSHAN scheme, one hot cooked meal is provided on every school day to students from Balvatika to Class VIII studying in government and government-aided schools. For the current academic year, the Ministry has approved 1.58 lakh beneficiaries, including 3,382 Balvatika students, 90,695 primary students and 64,281 upper primary students, with a total financial outlay of over Rs 35 crore. The Centre has directed the State government to ensure the uninterrupted supply of hot cooked meals to all eligible students on every school day, even in the event of delays in fund release, foodgrain supply constraints or any other operational challenges.
