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Mid Day Meals
The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education(NP-NSPE) popularly known as the Mid-day Meals (MDM) scheme aims to cover all students in classes (I-V) in Government, Government aided and local Body schools. The objective of the programme is to give a boost to universalisation of Primary Education by increasing enrolment, attendance and retention and simultaneously impacting on nutritional status of children in primary classes.
The Foodgrains are being lifted from FCI godowns and quality checked by the committee consisting of Distt. Education Officer, Dir. Health Services, representative of FCI and Principal of Schools. Chandigarh Administration is providing 2 mathis i.e., 1 sweet and 1 salted mathis per child per day. The mathis are regularly checked for their nutritional values/protein content per portion 8-12 gms and 300 calories by the Public Analysts, Punjab & Haryana. The state is bearing the cost of mathis @ Rs. 2.65 per child per day. The mathis are being provided in 110 Govt. Schools, 5 Govt. aided schools and 277 EGS centres, thereby covering 59993 children.
Now the Chd. Admn. has introduced ready-to eat food/cooked meals under mid-day-meal scheme. Cooked meal in the form of chapatti based menu costing Rs.8/-per child/day and rice based menu costing Rs.6.14 per child/day includes dal and sabazi. It was initiated on trial basis in four schools. Thereafter the cooked meal has been introduced in 74 Govt. schools, thereby covering approx.40,000 students. The meals are being served in stainless steel thalis, spoon and glass.
The cooked meals are being prepared by CITCO at Hotel Shivalik View, Sec-17, Food Craft Institute, Sec-42 and Hotel Management Institute, Sec-42 and Mathis by Social Welfare Deptt./Working women hostel, Sec-24, Chandigarh. These institutes have qualified cooking staff thereby ensure complete hygiene, and storage of nutritional/calorie values per portion of food/mathis.
Earlier the Chd.Admn., was spending approx. Rs.2.30 Crores annually for providing mathis. Since the day the cooked meals have been introduced the Chandigarh Administration has raised budget allocations to Rs.5.50 Crores and likely to be revised to Rs.8.50 Crores.
Various Incentives Provided to the Students under general education
The Education Department has launched a Mid-day meal scheme in all the Non Model Government School with an aim of providing indoor mid-day meal in order to inculcate the schooling habit among the little children from Ist to Vth classes. This scheme of providing hygienic and healthy meal to the students within the school premises has now been extended upto 8th class from this financial year.
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Number of Schools
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106 ( 100Govt.+ 6 Pvt.Aided Schools) |
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Total number of
Students
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52499 (approximately)
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Covered under Mid-day meal Scheme |
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Cooked Meal
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27098
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Mathhis
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16000
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Total
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43098
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