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Sumit Hakhoo & Vikas Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, December 7
Days after the Supreme Court imposed a fine on the J&K Government for non-serious approach towards the implementation of the midday meal scheme, officials remain tight-lipped over the latest embarrassment when it comes to the state’s performance in monitoring and removing bottlenecks in the Centrally sponsored scheme.
Director, SAMAGRA Shiksha, Tufail Mattoo admitted lack of a robust monitoring mechanism. “Yes, there have been problems in uploading the midday meal scheme data online. We have instructed the Chief Education Officers of all 22 districts of the state to ensure that the details are updated regularly,” Mattoo said.
He, however, refused to elaborate why no steps had been taken in the past despite repeatedly being pointed out by the Centre the lack of clarity in the scheme in the state or how J&K would respond to the SC ruling. “I cannot give further information on the issue. But we will take corrective measures,” he said.
As per the directions of the apex court, J&K and four other states were imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each as costs for their failure to create an online link along with a chart meant for monitoring the implementation and hygiene of the midday meal scheme in government schools.
The HRD Ministry had since 2014 been repeatedly pointing out to the state authorities lack of ‘sincerity and clarity’ in the flagship scheme. It was started in 2004 to promote universalisation of primary education by increasing enrolment and retention of children while improving their nutritional status by providing them afternoon meals at their schools.
In June 2018, before the PDP-BJP government collapsed, the ministry had expressed disappointment over continued delay in establishment of separate Midday Meal Directorates in the state.
“Inadequate monitoring was a major bottleneck in the implementation of the scheme. The online midday meal automated reporting and management system is not updated daily by a majority of the schools,” said a headmaster of a government school in the Bhalwal area of Jammu.
On December 6, of the 22,764 government schools covered under the scheme, only 5,998 schools (26 per cent) uploaded their data on the meals served. For primary students, Rs 4 per head and Rs 6 per head for upper primary students is kept daily for meals but how it is being utilised is not properly monitored.
Sources in the school education department said rather than strengthening the scheme and removing bottlenecks, the National Conference-Congress coalition (2009-2014) and the PDP-BJP alliance (2015-2018) had diverted the scheme funds to pay the salaries of teachers regularised under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan against the Central government norms.
To bring transparency, the Union Government had clubbed the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education schemes, naming them SAMAGRA Shiksha.