2020, VOL. 6 ISSUE 1, PART D
Assessment of nutritional status among primary school children availing mid-day meal scheme in government
Author(s): Subhadarshini Soumya
Abstract:
The Mid-day Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the Government of India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide. The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour. Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest of its kind in the world. The central and state governments share the cost of the Midday Meal Scheme, with the centre providing 60 percent and the states 40 percent. The central government provides grains and financing for other food. Costs for facilities, transportation, and labour is shared by the federal and state governments. The participating states contribute different amounts of money. The MDM scheme has many potential benefits: attracting children from disadvantaged sections (especially girls, Dalits and Adivasis) to school, improving regularity, nutritional benefits, socialisation benefits and benefits to women are some that have been highlighted. This study based on primary and secondary data, for present study selected schools named as Acharya Vihar and BDA Chandrasekharpur Govt. Primary school, size of samples 100 children. Information collected with the help of interview schedule, data analysed by using mean and frequency percentages, data presented by tables and figures. This study revealed that many school going children are getting benefit from mid-day meal scheme, with proper nutritious food. Children belonging from low income group were encouraged to study and gain knowledge by coming to school. Families coming from rural areas are still unwilling to send children to school. Awareness has to be done among parents so that they can send their children to school rather than keeping children at home. As school provides both knowledge as well as food to the children. Through mid-day meal scheme, children get the right nutrient intake at least for one time of meal.
How to cite this article:
Subhadarshini Soumya. Assessment of nutritional status among primary school children availing mid-day meal scheme in government. Int J Home Sci 2020;6(1):217-220.