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Lockdown: Govt school children in Gzb deprived of mid-day meal
Ghaziabad:
Ghaziabad:
The students of state-run primary schools in Ghaziabad are one of the worst sufferers of the lockdown imposed to stave off the spread of coronavirus outbreak. With the schools shut, the children from the poor sections of the society are deprived of mid-day meals and also lack facilities for any online classes.
About 80,000 children are enrolled in 455 government schools in the Ghaziabad district, which come under the basic education department, officials said, adding it is unlikely that the government schools will reopen before July.
“My two daughters study at a government school. Since the school has closed down, the children stay at home and have no access to the mid-day meal. My husband is also finding it tough to get some work. So, we are somehow surviving with bare minimum food,” said Rehana, a parent from Usman Colony at Dasna.
Anjum, a class 5 student at the government primary school in Dasna, said that she is eagerly waiting for resumption of her classes. “We have no school work at the moment. The food (mid-day meal) is also not available now and we survive with one meal per day at home,” she said.
Notably, the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry had last month asked all states to ensure that eligible students either get their meals or a commensurate food security allowance as building immunity through proper diet is an important element in the fight against Covid-19.
Since the issuance of advisory by the HRD ministry on March 20, several states have taken a decision on how to proceed with the provision of mid-day meals to students. But this is not the case in Ghaziabad.
When contacted, basic education officer Brij Bhushan Chaudhary said that his department has not received any such directions from the HRD ministry. He also said that mid-day meal would be made available to students only when schools reopen.
“All the schools are closed due to lockdown. Providing mid-day meal is an issue as we cannot allow children to gather. Also, the mid-day meal is available only when the schools are open. It is possible that schools will reopen only in July,” he said.
“Apart from the studies, examinations have also got hampered. But we have received instructions that the students should be promoted to the next class,” Chaudhary added.
Some of the officials of the basic education department whom HT spoke to said that the idea behind the mid-day meal was to attract students to schools and to provide them with daily nutrition.
“Apart from a meal each day, milk and fruits were also provided. A survey pointed out that about 30 to 40% students in such schools arrived without breakfast from homes. Children of our schools are primarily from poor section of the society and have no access to laptops, computers or internet connections at home. So, online classes for them are also not possible,” said Pawan Kumar Bhati, block education officer of Loni.
Bhati said that some teachers are taking initiative to teach students through mobile application. “Some teachers in areas like Muradnagar have created group on smartphone apps and also asked students to connect to the group. But several students do not have access to smartphones, as most of the families have basic phones,” he added.
Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey and chief development officer Asmita Lal did not take calls for comments on this story.
However, some villages in the district are providing food to students. Arunima Tyagi, pradhan of Basantpur Sainthli village, said that she is trying her best to make food available to students.
“Children are not getting mid-day meal nowadays since the schools are shut. But we are trying that dry ration reaches each family and children also have access to proper food. Also, children do not have access to technology at home. So we have planned that printed assignments be provided to them. We will place the copies of assignments at ration shops. Once the families arrive for taking ration, they can take assignments’ copy,” she added.
