3 weeks ago
Bengal tells 500 schools to arrange eggs in mid-day meals
Many children in India get a free hot lunch at school.
It is called the mid-day meal.
In the state of West Bengal, a religious group called Iskcon started making the lunch for 500 schools.
Iskcon said it would only serve vegetarian food, with no eggs.
Eggs are important for growing children because they give protein.
So the government asked those 500 schools to buy eggs themselves for now.
The government will give each school ₹16 per child every week for the eggs.
Small schools get a machine to boil eggs, and big schools get a gas connection.
Some people are unhappy because they think the new plan is confusing, especially using building money for eggs.
The government says it is working on a better plan to give eggs through self-help groups.
The West Bengal government has asked heads of 500 government and aided schools in Calcutta to arrange eggs for mid-day meals twice a week until a new mechanism is in place.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on July 30 that eggs would be supplied through self-help groups, but that arrangement is not in place yet.
Schools will be allotted ₹16 per child per week for egg delivery, with costs reimbursed; schools with 20 students get boiling facilities and larger schools get LPG connections.
Egg delivery was discontinued in the 500 schools from August 1 after Iskcon took over mid-day meal distribution there and said it would serve only vegetarian items.
School heads expressed discomfort with using composite grant funds meant for infrastructure to buy eggs and sought a formal government notification.
- Who
- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's West Bengal government, the heads of 500 government and aided schools in Calcutta, and Iskcon, which now delivers mid-day meals.
- What
- 500 schools were told to make their own arrangements to provide eggs to students for mid-day meals twice a week because the planned self-help group supply mechanism is not yet in place.
- Where
- Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India.
- When
- The announcement was made on July 30; school heads were told at a meeting on Thursday, and egg delivery in the 500 schools was discontinued from August 1.
- Why
- Egg supply stopped in the 500 schools after Iskcon took over mid-day meal distribution and said it would serve only vegetarian items, and the government's alternate egg supply arrangement through self-help groups has not started yet.
Government and Iskcon arrangement
Critics and school heads
Vegetarian mid-day meals
Government and Iskcon arrangement
The government outsourced mid-day meals to Iskcon in June, which says it will serve only vegetarian items in the 500 schools under its charge.
Critics and school heads
Critics accused the government of compromising the nutritional value of meals and attempting to change students' food habits.
Egg supply mechanism
Government and Iskcon arrangement
The government promised eggs would be supplied separately through self-help groups and asked schools to arrange eggs temporarily, with ₹16 per child per week to be reimbursed.
Critics and school heads
No self-help group mechanism is in place yet, and schools say the delivery of eggs was abruptly discontinued on August 1, leaving them to manage on their own.
Use of composite grant funds
Government and Iskcon arrangement
The government said schools can use composite grant funds to purchase eggs, with the expenses to be reimbursed later.
Critics and school heads
School heads said the composite grant is meant for building, renovating and maintaining civil infrastructure, and are uncomfortable using it to buy eggs, calling for a formal notification.
Key facts
- Schools asked to arrange eggs
- 500
- Total mid-day meal schools in Calcutta
- 1,851
- Allocation
- ₹16 per child per week, reimbursed
- Classes covered
- Primary (I-V) and upper primary (VI-VIII)
- Egg delivery stopped
- August 1
- Announcement date
- July 30
- Meal provider
- Iskcon (vegetarian only)
- Composite school grant fund
- ₹296 crore for 80,375 schools
Quotes
Education department official
Official from the education department
“Schools that are still outside the ambit of Iskcon are getting eggs once a day. The delivery of eggs was discontinued in the 500 schools where the religious organisation was assigned responsibility for mid‑day meal delivery from August 1. These schools have to take responsibility for resuming egg distribution on their own until an alternative mechanism is put in place.””
telegraphindia.com
“It has been decided that these schools will be allotted ₹16 per child per week to facilitate the delivery of eggs. The cost will be reimbursed. Schools with 20 students will be given induction facilities so they can boil eggs, “”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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