Centralised kitchens will replace individual cooking of midday meals in schools. This decision was taken by the 15-member committee comprising principals from the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals’ Association (MSSHSSPA) and education department officials. A report of the meeting held at Pune on Friday will be submitted to the school education department by September 15.
A 15-member committee of principals from the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals’ Association (MSSHSSPA) and education department officials has decided that centralised kitchens will replace individual cooking of food by schools implementing the mid-day meal scheme. A report of the meeting held at Pune on Friday will be submitted to the school education department by September 15.
35,000 schools in the state had stopped cooking mid-day meals on 16 August as they felt that having to take responsibility for the quality of meals interfered with their academic duties. However the education department then formed a committee on August 20 to look into the matter.
Saying that the chief reason for the Bihar tragedy was an absolute lack of monitoring on the part of mandal block authorities there, Prashant Redij, member of MSSHSSPA from Mumbai said, “A programme of this scale requires meticulous quality control and stringent monitoring systems in place. This should definitely be given to self-help groups or NGOs. Hence we have recommended a centralised kitchen at taluka levels.”