School head teachers are yet to receive funds for midday meal scheme for the months of February and March this year.
Teachers’ forums allege no steps have been taken by the government to sanction the funds for the two months. Even the salaries of midday meal cooks were not fully paid.
The Kerala Private Primary Headmasters’ Association alleged that both Union and State governments’ share to schools was pending.
The midday meal cooks, it alleged, received ₹1,000 less in February, and no pay at all in March. Their families are facing hardship amidst festive celebrations in connection with Easter, Ramzan, and Vishu.
At present, ₹8 is sanctioned per student for up to 150 students of a school, ₹7 per student for schools with 151 to 500 students, and ₹6 per student for more than 500 students. Even after months, no action had been taken on the Director of General Education’s recommendation for a revision of material cost to schools.
Revision of material cost
The DGE had proposed ₹6 for pre-primary and primary students and ₹8.17 for upper primary students as material cost.
The association said that it had been seeking a revision in the cost ever since schools reopened after COVID-19, but to no avail. The funds were being allocated as per rates approved in 2016. Though there was an increase in Union government’s share, it has not been made available by the State government to schools till now, it alleged.
Head teachers have been implementing the scheme by spending out of their own pockets or borrowing from other teachers, it alleged.
Special funds
The DGE’s recommendation to allocate special funds to the tune of ₹22 a week for each student to provide milk and egg or ‘nendran’ banana as part of supplementary nutrition too had not been adopted. The price of cooking gas too had doubled or more. This had increased the burden of the head teachers.
The headmasters wanted the money for each month to be paid in advance, the association said, seeking immediate action on the issue.
The Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association (KPSTA) said that during a hearing in the case in the Kerala High Court, it had brought to the court’s attention that the head teachers had to repeatedly seek the court’s intervention to get back what had been spent by them each month. The court had then directed the government to pay the arrears for the midday meal scheme by April 20. The government pleader had informed the court that the money would be sanctioned soon.
