New Delhi: A pilot study on the midday meal scheme has recommended splitting it into light snacks and a light meal because it found that 70 per cent children in government schools were coming to class on an empty stomach and failing to focus on studies.
The study, conducted by the NGO Swami Sivananda Memorial Institute in the Sohawal and Masauda blocks of Faizabad district in Uttar Pradesh, reported that the children were coming to school hungry because there was no food at home.
K. Ashok Rao, general secretary of the institute asked by the government in 2015 to conduct the survey, said the failure to address classroom hunger was affecting the quality of education. The report was submitted to the HRD ministry over a year ago but no action has been taken yet.
The survey conducted in 70 schools found that for a large number of children, the midday meal is the first and main meal of the day. The data showed that 83 per cent children in primary classes and 56 per cent in upper primary classes had come to school on an empty stomach.
"Their parents send them like that because they have no food at home. Since the children are on an empty stomach, they fail to focus on classroom transactions. After eating the meal, they feel sleepy and fail to focus on studies," Rao said.
The NGO experimented by splitting the meal into light snacks, such as roasted rice or roasted chana, as soon as the students arrived and another light meal around 10.30am. "We showed that the split is possible without spending extra money," Rao said.
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