Minister rates mid-day meals ‘sub-standard’ in Koraput

Dash visited Upper Primary School in Pujariput village in Jeypore tehsil and interacted with the students of various classes.
School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash having mid-day meal with students of Upper Primary School in Pujariput village on Tuesday I Express
School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash having mid-day meal with students of Upper Primary School in Pujariput village on Tuesday I Express

KORAPUT: School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash resented the sub-standard quality of mid-day meal being served at a Government-run school in Koraput district during a surprise visit on Tuesday.

Dash visited Upper Primary School in Pujariput village in Jeypore tehsil and interacted with the students of various classes. While the Minister was satisfied with the way students of Class IV responded to his questions, he was surprised that students of Class IX could not name the Governor of Odisha.Later, he ate rice and soya bean potato curry that were served as mid-day meal to the children and was upset with the substandard quality of food that is being cooked at a centralised kitchen.

The centralised kitchen, installed at Rondapalli under Jeypore block, is being run by a private agency and supplies food to primary and upper primary schools located in Jeypore, Koraput and Sunabeda municipal areas and Kotpad NAC.

The Minister asked District Education Officer (DEO) Pramod Kumar Panda to issue a notice to the agency but the officer informed that notices have been served to the agency thrice in the past over the quality of food but to no avail. Dash said a decision on the supply of mid-day meal from the centralised kitchen will be taken once he reached Bhubaneswar. He instructed the school headmistress to advise students to wash their hands before eating meals.

In Koraput, he reviewed the functioning of schools in Rayagada, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Koraput along with officials of the district administration and School and Mass Education department officials.
Speaking to mediapersons, he said teachers will be kept away from monitoring preparation of mid-day meals and the job will be given to women SHGs. “Teachers shall only focus on educating the children and nothing else”, he said.The Minister emphasised on infrastructure development of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya and provision of cycles and scholarships to students.

He also directed the block education officers and cluster coordinators to make surprise visits to schools and directed teachers to hold parents-teachers meetings in schools at least four times in a month.The Minister informed that while vacant teacher positions in Koraput district are being filled up, contractual teachers, who have completed six years of service, will be regularised on November 6.

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