Schools told to grow own veggies for mid-day meals

In order to make schools across Karnataka self-reliant when it comes to implementing the ambitious mid-day meal scheme, the state government has ordered as many as 34,000 schools to grow veggies on the premises instead of buying them from outside.

Interestingly, the move is said to be an attempt by the government to increase the taste and nutrition of the food, especially after reports surfaced that many vegetables sold in the open market had pesticide and chemicals.

In its directive, the government has also ordered school authorities to grow the veggies organically, without using pesticides or chemicals. The government is facilitating the schools’ tie-up with local horticulture and agriculture department for meeting their requirement of seeds and saplings. “Besides catering to the requirements of the schools’ mid-day meals scheme, this could also enhance the knowledge of children about farming and environment. We have told schools to involve kids in planting saplings or sowing seeds once a week for at least an hour,” SR Umashankar, Principal Secretary, Department of Primary and Secondary Education, told DH.

According to department officials, the “kitchen garden” concept is a hit, having already been experimented on a pilot basis at over 8,900 government schools in the state.

“Buoyed by the success of kitchen gardens at 8,900 schools, we have recently submitted a proposal to MHRD requesting financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per school. Appreciative of our concept the HRD agreed to give Rs 5,000 per school on an annual basis,” Umashankar said.

The official said the MHRD also directed other states to emulate Karnataka for its successful implementation of the mid-day meals scheme.