VALPOI
After being deprived of mid-day meals for three days, over 500 students from five schools in Sattari were served biscuits on Friday as authorities were still unable to provide them with cooked food.
Over 900 students from nine schools in Sattari were deprived of mid-day meals on Tuesday and Wednesday, while about 500 of them were not served mid-day meals on Thursday, after authorities on Monday had ordered the Bhumika Self Help Group (SHG) to stop supplying the meals to the nine schools.
The 500 affected students are studying in four schools at Morlem and one school in Poriem.
Under pressure to provide some food to the 500 students, two other SHGs could only distribute biscuits, instead of cooked food, to the affected students.
Efforts are underway to provide cooked meals to the five schools by Saturday, an official from the Valpoi education office told The Goan.
The delay in serving mid-day meals to the 500 students from Tuesday to Thursday and the serving of biscuits to them on Friday did not go down well with the parents.
After the issue was highlighted in The Goan, local education officers desperately tried to make alternate arrangements with other SHG groups.
Mindful of growing concern among parents and pressure from local education authorities, two SHGs could only manage to serve biscuits to the 500 students on Friday.
The Indradhanusha SHG from Keri supplied biscuits to four schools at Ghodemol, Deulwada, Bagwada and Kesarkarwada in Morlem, while the Indira SHG at Zarme supplied biscuits to a school in Poriem.
When contacted, a Valpoi education officer said alternate arrangements had been made and was confident that cooked food would be provided to the 500 students on Saturday.
Indradhanusha SHG President Nisha Nilkanth Gawas told The Goan that they had received an order by the Valpoi education office to supply mid-day meals to three other schools in the vicinity at the last moment.
"Hence, it was not possible to serve cooked food to these additional students and as a result, we could only supply biscuits to the affected students on Friday. However, we will serve cooked meals according to the prescribed menu from Saturday onwards," said Gawas.
Parents were, however, unhappy that the children were supplied biscuits on Friday.
"It is surprising that children were served biscuits instead of cooked food and the education department has failed to make alternate arrangements for cooked food since the four days," said Gopinath Kesarkar, a parent from Kesarkarwada in Morlem.
Meanwhile, there has been no indication from the education department or the FDA if the black-listed Bhumika SHG has been allowed to resume supply of mid-day meals to the nine schools in Sattari taluka.
After being deprived of mid-day meals for three days, over 500 students from five schools in Sattari were served biscuits on Friday as authorities were still unable to provide them with cooked food.
Over 900 students from nine schools in Sattari were deprived of mid-day meals on Tuesday and Wednesday, while about 500 of them were not served mid-day meals on Thursday, after authorities on Monday had ordered the Bhumika Self Help Group (SHG) to stop supplying the meals to the nine schools.
The 500 affected students are studying in four schools at Morlem and one school in Poriem.
Under pressure to provide some food to the 500 students, two other SHGs could only distribute biscuits, instead of cooked food, to the affected students.
Efforts are underway to provide cooked meals to the five schools by Saturday, an official from the Valpoi education office told The Goan.
The delay in serving mid-day meals to the 500 students from Tuesday to Thursday and the serving of biscuits to them on Friday did not go down well with the parents.
After the issue was highlighted in The Goan, local education officers desperately tried to make alternate arrangements with other SHG groups.
Mindful of growing concern among parents and pressure from local education authorities, two SHGs could only manage to serve biscuits to the 500 students on Friday.
The Indradhanusha SHG from Keri supplied biscuits to four schools at Ghodemol, Deulwada, Bagwada and Kesarkarwada in Morlem, while the Indira SHG at Zarme supplied biscuits to a school in Poriem.
When contacted, a Valpoi education officer said alternate arrangements had been made and was confident that cooked food would be provided to the 500 students on Saturday.
Indradhanusha SHG President Nisha Nilkanth Gawas told The Goan that they had received an order by the Valpoi education office to supply mid-day meals to three other schools in the vicinity at the last moment.
"Hence, it was not possible to serve cooked food to these additional students and as a result, we could only supply biscuits to the affected students on Friday. However, we will serve cooked meals according to the prescribed menu from Saturday onwards," said Gawas.
Parents were, however, unhappy that the children were supplied biscuits on Friday.
"It is surprising that children were served biscuits instead of cooked food and the education department has failed to make alternate arrangements for cooked food since the four days," said Gopinath Kesarkar, a parent from Kesarkarwada in Morlem.
Meanwhile, there has been no indication from the education department or the FDA if the black-listed Bhumika SHG has been allowed to resume supply of mid-day meals to the nine schools in Sattari taluka.
