All the District Educational Officers in the State are aware that the. Mid-Day Meal programme is a flagship programme aiming at enhancing enrollment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children studying in Government, Local Body and Government-aided primary and upper primary schools and the Centres run under Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) / (AlE) & NCLP schools. As a part of implementation of Mid-Day Meal Scheme, NGOs and Trusts are also get associated with Government in implementation of the programme through centralized kitchen. A workshop has been conducted on MDM with the district teams on 11th and 12th July 2018.
In this context, they arc informed that during review heme and at the time of field visits/ inspection it is observed that in most of the schools, the following is the situation in implementation of MDM
1 Food is prepared in the open areas, under the trees and the children are eating there it. The cook-cum-helpers arc serving food sitting in varandah, students arc standing in a line under the hot sun or shade of trees in the open for their turn to collect meals and having meals sitting on dusty mantle floors, Further two to three children are eating from single plate which is unhygienic. Such practices arc causing food contamination that includes bacteria, yeasts, viruses or parasites that are present in air, water and soil dirt etc. and lead to illnesses/sickness among students
2. The teachers are not getting adequately involved at the time of cooking and of serving of meals to the students and in ensuring systematic way of cooking, delay and of quality of MDM at school point.
3. The cooking areas and utensils, used for cooking and serving meals, are not being cleaned properly.
4. Demonstrable effort need to be made to enhance quality and quantity of food being served to children.
5. The rationale in prescribing the Menu is not properly understood and the guidelines are not being followed properly.
6. All stored raw materials and ingredients arc not being stored in a proper preserved space/area and clean containers.
7. Inadequate Community participation in monitoring of the meals, prepared and served at the school point. For a programme like MDM, awareness and advocacy are of paramount importance.
8. In certain schools the name of male cooks arc mentioned. The hank accounts of retired employees or husbands/ relatives of rooks are provided for payment of cooking cost/ honorarium. This is incorrect
In view of the above circumstances and keeping in view the importance of the scheme all the District Educational Officers are requested to take following immediate measures to rectify the deficiencies:
1. Food shall he cooked in Kitchen shed only. In the absence of kitchen shed proper area shall be chosen in such a way that either smoke or heat may not reach the classrooms and serving area.
2. The meals shall be served to the students after making them to sit in a line on rolling mats,
3. (a). The meals shall be served in a dining room, or school Veranda/ class room or a hall in the schools, which should be spacious enough, well ventilated and with windows having wire mesh. The room should be cleaned every day before the school starts functioning.
3 (b). The teachers shall get the students accustomed to have a prayer before having meals.
3 (c). Committee of student and teacher should be framed to ensure proper serving arrangements and cleaning after the MDM is taken.
3 (d). Children should be guided to eat properly without sprinkling the meal around their plate
4 (a). The school management should be encouraged to draw on the support of the community. Gram Panchayats and School Management Committees/Village Education Committees may be approached for involving community members in regular inspections, on a rotation basis, to help the school management in ensuring efficient quality cooking, serving and
cleaning operations. The community members shall be inculcated to provide at least rolling mats for sitting and having meals by children.
4 (b). Utilise the Parent Teacher Association meeting and other mechanisms for involvement of civil society in improving the monitoring of MDM and ensuring that the problems are detected early and speedily rectified.
4 (c). Ensure that the SMC's have been constituted in all schools, their meetings are regularly held and they start to take keen interest in serving MDM.
The committee support should he taken where ever necessary for enrichment of quality and quantity of MDM.
5.The women Cook cum Helpers shrill only he appointed choosing from among DWACRA group or self help groups by the Mandal Level Committee 1.e., (MRO, MEO and HM etc,) for each School. As per GO.M.S. No. 94 Edu dt.25.1 1.2002.
6 (a). Teachers shall get involved in MOM programme as an additional facilitator an not treat it as burden without compromising on teaching learning process. In the in-service training programmes for teachers, the MDM must also be included as a component and teachers must know how to integrate this programme with teaching-learning process. Way in which teachers and 11Ms / Principals can bring nutrition value and quality of Mid Day meal is indicated below. Effect should be made on all these front on daily bases.
6 (b). Quality vegetables and pulses should be purchased by the cooks under the supervision of teachers.
6 (c). The food grains like Red Gram Dal and rice should not be stored for more than 45 days; they may be stored in airtight bins or stacked neatly in gunny bags or bins and stored in area free of rodents and insects. Food grains should not he stored directly on the ground; a wooden plank should be used for stacking of food grains.
6 (d) It should be ensured that ingredients used for cooking such as food grains, pulses, vegetables, cooking oil and condiments are of AGG Mark / ISI Standard packets and free from adulteration, contaminants, pest and infestation.
6 (e). Adequate/ prescribed quantity of Dal should be ensured in every meal per child.
6 (I) Leafy vegetables when added to any preparation should be thoroughly washed before cutting and should not be subjected to washing after cutting to protect nutritional values.
6 (g) Local recepies, which are tasty and having nutritious values, shall be adopted in consultation with a Dietician to ensure that more number of children prefer MDM.
6 (h). As directed by Hon'ble chief Minister Nutrition gardens should be established in schools with the support of panchayati and Horticulture Dept. And vegetables from nutrition garden used in MDM preparation.Practice of raising the kitchen garden should be encouraged wherever there arc facilities for water space.
6 (i) Where MDM is being served from a centralised kitchen ensure that the food is hot, tasty and served in a systematic manner as instructed at Sl.No.2 above
6 (j) Eggs of size above 45grams should be accepted from the supplier and served daily for 5 days in MOM.
6 (k) The MDM rice should be thoroughly cleaned up of stones, inserts,dirt and washed 4 to 5 times before cooking.
6(1). MDM should hence be allowed not to be cooked at homes of cooking agencies and should be cooked on school premises only.
7. Ensuring Clean Environment:
7 (a) The floors of kitchen and the slabs should be cleaned every day before and after the food is cooked. Special attention should be paid to the cleaning of obstructed sites including cooking areas and at the junction of floors and walls.
7 (b) The Utensils, used for cooking and serving meals shall be cleaned of debris, rinsed, scrubbed with detergent and washed under running tap water after every operation. Wiping of
utensils should be done with clean cloth.
7 (c) Clean cloths should be used for wiping hands and for clearing surfaces Cloth used for floor cleaning should not be used for cleaning surfaces of tables and working areas and far wiping utensils. Dust or crumb from plates or utensils should be removed into dustbin by using cloth or wiper.
7 (d). Proper hand washing facilities shall be made available. Wherever proper hand washing facilities are either not available or inadequate for all children. buckets and mugs can be used to supplement the available facilities. The soap should be provided for washing hands. The children should be trained for washing their hands properly.
7 (e). Waste storage should be located in such manner that it does not contaminate the food process, storage areas, the environment inside and outside the kitchen and waste should be kept in covered containers and removed at regular intervals. Periodic disposal of the refuse! waste should be made compulsory.
Payment to CCHs:
- a) The Bank Account Numbers, which are linked to Azulhaar Number shall only he provided for payment of Cooking Cost and honorarium. The Account Numbers of relatives of the CCHs shall not be entered.
- b) The change in Account Numbers shall be only on exceptional conditions like removal/change of existing CCH
- The Child-Into shall be updated and food grains requirement shall be sent timely as per actual requirement.
- d) The Head Masters shall submit attendance particulars daily in the app meant for it properly and there shall be no frequent corrections / Modification of data HM and Visiting Officers should monitor and ensure that above Instructions are followed in each and every school.
- Further, all the District Educational Officers Lire requested to ensure that the above guidelines arc properly reached all the field officers, schools & teachers and implemented with immediate effect. A training or work shops to HMs/MEOs/CCHs is organised at Mandal level. The matter shall also he kept under the notice of the District Collector to ensure the implementation.
