Pvt schools in tribal areas may also offer midday meals

The scheme is the world’s largest school-feeding programme reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools across the country. It is aimed at enhancing enrolment,retention and attendance at school besides simultaneously improving nutritional values among children,and since 1995 has been implemented across the country’s primary and upper primary government schools and schools aided by the Centre or state governments.

Arguing that private schools operating in tribal belts across Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh,Orissa and Madhya Pradesh among other states will do well with a midday meal on offer and be able to attract and retain tribal children in schools,education departments of these states besides activists and school establishments have repeatedly petitioned the HRD Ministry on the issue. They point out that many of the children in the area come from highly impoverished families that can barely manage a meal a day. Since a large number of private unaided schools,charitable trusts and missionaries are running schools in the area and also offer good education,bringing tribal children into the midday meal fold even if they are enrolled in private schools will not only increase enrolment and arrest drop-out rate but also provide them with a nourishing meal.

As many as 30 per cent of educational institutes operating in states,and particularly areas with high tribal and minority population,are private in nature,it has been assessed. While the ministry has been urged often to expand the midday meal scheme across states for private unaided schools catering to children from disadvantaged sections,in the first phase it hopes to take the scheme to private institutes in tribal- and minority-dominated areas,sources in the HRD Ministry have confirmed.