E-Paper
Panchkula: School head suspended for use of infested, expired food in mid-day meals
At Mankiya Government School in Panchkula, 300 kg rice was found to be infested with insects, 60 kg flour was found spoiled and 87 kg milk powder was found expired during inspection by Haryana Vidhan Sabha speaker Gian Chand Gupta
Haryana Vidhan Sabha speaker Gian Chand Gupta on Tuesday suspended the principal of the government school in Mankiya village, Panchkula, after it was found that students were served mid-day meal made from infested rice, expired flour and milk powder.
The matter came to light during a surprise inspection of government schools in Mankiya village, Kot village and Naggal village.
Gupta issued orders to suspend principal Bharti Gupta and instructed officials, including district elementary education officer (DEEO) Sandhya Dhikkara present there, to come out of their air-conditioned rooms and pay attention to the schools.
At Mankiya Government School when Gupta checked the mid-day meal ration with the school management committee, 300 kg rice was found to be infested with insects, 60 kg flour was found spoiled and 87 kg milk powder was found expired. The head of the school management committee, Gurmeet Singh, and the members disposed of these rations.
The water cooler at the school was not working and the toilets were in bad shape. Some new toilets had been constructed but they were found to be in bad condition. The children said they have not been getting cold drinking water for the last three months. In this regard, the Vidhan Sabha speaker spoke to education minister Seema Trikha.
Bharti Gupta has allegedly already been charge-sheeted for such irregularities. A report was sent against her to the headquarters on July 4. Now, the responsibility of the school head has been given to science teacher Neelam.
Gupta also inspected the rooms under construction at the Senior Secondary School of Kot village and the school in Naggal.
