Delay in release of funds for the noon meal scheme is snowballing into a crisis again in at least some schools in Kerala with head teachers scrambling for money to buy groceries.
The State government is yet to give its share of the funds for June, July, and August for the free lunch being served to over 30 lakh students up to Class VIII in more than 12,000 schools. As much as 60% of the expense for the project is borne by the Union government while the rest is covered by the State. According to reports, the Centre is yet to release its share of ₹80 crore and the State is supposed to give ₹50 crore.
The head teachers have been demanding the State government to increase the allocation for the scheme as the expense per student had not been revised after 2016. For schools with a student strength of 150, each one is allotted ₹8 a day. For those with a strength of 500 students, it is ₹7. Schools with more than 500 students will get only ₹6 per student. Along with this, the students are supposed to get eggs and milk as well. Each student is supposed to get milk twice a week and one egg per week.
