Hailakandi Tops In Midday Meal Scheme Implementation

A Correspondent

Hailakandi: Hailakandi district topped among the districts of Assam in the implementation of Midday Meal scheme in August 2019. Disclosing this, Inspector of Schools, Rajiv Kumar Jha said Hailakandi district has bagged the number 1 position among all the districts of Assam in the MDM automated reporting and management system uploaded on the Ministry of Human Resources Development portal. As against 1,354 schools, an average of 1,258 schools reported data on a daily basis, thus registering a whopping overall percentage of 92.91. Morigaon and Dibrugarh districts have secured second and third positions, respectively.

Jha said the remarkable achievement has been made possible due to the efforts of all stakeholders, including HoI, CRCCs and DMC personnel. He also thanked Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli and Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education) for taking keen interest in the education sector.

The Inspector of Schools said the MDM scheme has contributed significantly to increased enrolment, attendance, and retention in schools across the district. “The nutritious meal serves as an incentive for children to come to school, thus opening for them the door to education and opportunities,” said Jha, adding that the scheme has positive impact on the health of children as well as learning outcomes.

“Elaborate measures are taken to ensure that the meal provided as a part of this school lunch initiative meets nutritional norms specified as a part of the MDM guidelines, “ said Jha.

The beneficiaries of the Midday Meal programme are children in the age group of 6 to 14 years. With a view to enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children, the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on August 15, 1995.

In 2001 MDM scheme became a cooked Midday Meal scheme under which every child in Government and Government aided primary schools is being served prepared meal with a minimum content of 300 calories of energy and 8-12 gram protein per day for a minimum of 200 days. The scheme was further revised in April 2008 extending it to recognised as well as unrecognised madrassas under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

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