Mid-day meal: Kerala teachers spend own money to feed children

Undeterred by fund crunch, teachers in government and aided schools in Kerala are spending from their own pockets to feed children under the much touted mid day meal scheme.
Though government had increased the allocation under the scheme from Rs five to Rs eight per child early this week, it is still "too low" to feed the children nutritious meals every day, teachers said.
Besides, they also have to arrange funds for cooking items and LPG or firewood, they said.
The protein-rich meals, weekly milk and egg are a major attraction to draw kids from impoverished families to schools.
In many schools, principals have to pay from their own pockets or depend on the contributions of alumni.

While big schools manage to take forward the scheme with support of Parents and Teachers Association funds, smaller ones run from pillar to post to make both ends meet.

Teachers say it is very difficult to continue the scheme successfully if fund allocation is not raised at least up to Rs 10 per child. They also asked how they would be able to manage with such meagre amounts when a single egg costs Rs 4-5 in the local market.
The Principal of a upper primary school here said she spends about 3,500 from her pocket every month to provide meals to the children.

"Principals of small schools have to spend a lot of money from their own pocket to feed the children. I spend Rs 3,000 to 3,500 in many months. But I have no regrets as it is to for the children," she told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The Principal said she could make no compromise in the case of meals as most students of the century-old school, established during the regime of Travancore royals, belong to poor families or destitute homes.
"Things will become worse during months when prices of essential commodities soar. We depend on humble contributions by alumni who visit the school on many occasions," she said.

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L Pushpalatha, principal of a government upper primary school in Vithura, 37 km from here, where the largest number of children are fed under the mid-day meals scheme in the district, said the recent hike of the fund to Rs eight per child would not make "much of a difference".
"Big schools will manage the crisis in one way or other. PTA may also help during crisis. But the teachers, especially principals, of small schools are always the losers," she said.
"There is no provision even to get back the amount which they spend from their own pockets for the scheme."

"As no teacher can think of denying meals for their students, they do not mind spending from their own pocket," she said.
Pushpalatha said she herself had to spend from her salary for more than a year when she served as the principal of a rural school some time back.
She, however, said as her present school was a big one the situation is better.
"In Vithura UPS, we spend around Rs 1.5 lakh every month for the mid-day meals and manage somehow. But the situation may not be the same always as market fluctuates and prices of essential commodities vary every day," she said.

P H Nazeer, teacher in-charge of the mid-day meals scheme in Vithura school, said the protein-rich meals, weekly egg and milk are a big attraction for the schools' children as a majority of them are from poor backgrounds.
"This month, prices of vegetables are lower. But during months when these prices go up, we will face fund crunch," he said.
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Meanwhile, state Director of Public Instructions M S Jaya said the government has increased the fund from Rs five to Rs eight per child considering the "plight" of the teachers.
She claimed that no other state is giving funds for the mid-day meal scheme like Kerala.

"Rice is given to the schools free of cost and they need to buy vegetables, firewood, milk and eggs only. The schools can manage to meet these requirements using the present amount," Jaya said.
The Director, however, admitted that if the amount is raised to Rs 10 per child, things would become smoother for schools.
Many schools were finding out their own means like cultivating vegetables to overcome the fund crunch, she added.