Ludhiana: Funds for mid-day meal, workers’ salaries awaited for 2 months

Managing expenses a Herculean task, say teachers; Ludhiana district education officer says funds will be released soon; at the same time, mid-day meal workers haven’t received their salaries for two months

For the past two months, government schools have been struggling to serve mid-day meal as funds are yet to be released, throwing the entire system into disarray. School heads have raised concerns, stating that primary schools don’t have amalgamated funds, making it nearly impossible to manage expenses for vegetables, spices and gas cylinders, etc.

The cooking cost was revised in November last year, which raised the cost per child from ₹5.45 to ₹6.19 for primary students and from ₹8.17 to ₹9.29 for upper primary students. (HT File)

Sukhdhir Sekhon, head teacher of Government Primary School, Moti Nagar, said, “The mid-day meal cooking cost for December and January has not been provided yet. Managing meals for 500-1,000 students daily without funds is extremely difficult as primary schools do not even have amalgamated funds.”

The cooking cost was revised in November last year, which raised the cost per child from ₹5.45 to ₹6.19 for primary students and from ₹8.17 to ₹9.29 for upper primary students.

Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon, state finance secretary of the Lecturer Cadre Union, said, “Apart from wheat and rice, everything needed for cooking must be purchased by the school. Without the cooking cost available for months, it becomes difficult to run the scheme.”

The state government’s decision to introduce ‘ghee halwa’ every Wednesday in January under the mid-day meal scheme, meant to enhance nutrition, further strained school budgets. Teachers and school heads struggled to manage the additional financial burden without the required funds.

At the same time, mid-day meal workers haven’t received their salaries for two months. Some blocks face a three-month delay. These workers, who earn a meagre ₹3,000 per month, are now in severe financial distress.

Mid-day meal worker Parveen Kumari, who is also the Punjab joint secretary of the Democratic Mulazim Federation (DMF), said, “In some blocks, workers haven’t been paid for three months. A few of us are the sole earners for our families. The delay has left us in a financial crisis.”

District education officer (elementary) Ravinder Kaur said funds had been processed. “The cooking cost has been sent to schools and they will receive it in a day. The salaries of mid-day meal workers will also be credited soon,” she said.