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.
Though rice is provided by the State government, the head teachers are expected to manage the other items on the menu. They claim that the rise in prices of groceries and LPG cylinder, along with the increasing transportation costs is burning a hole in their pockets. Though the General Education department too had sought a ₹4 hike per student around two years ago, it is yet to be approved.
Teachers’ unions such as the Kerala Private Primary Headmasters Association and the Congress-affiliated Kerala Pradesh School Teachers Association (KPSTA) are planning protests in the coming days.
P.K. Aravindan, general secretary, KPSTA, said on Wednesday that even the cooks who prepare the food in the schools were yet to get their honoraria. The KPSTA functionaries alleged that the noon meal scheme had been facing a crisis like never before. The State government was not willing to release funds for the nutritious items on the menu such as eggs and milk. They demanded that the government either allocate special funds for serving eggs and milk or stop serving them under the noon meal scheme. The KPSTA is planning to stage a three-day satyagraha outside the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram from September 13 and take out march to the residence of the General Education Minister on September 16.
