HRD ministry stresses on stricter monitoring of MDM scheme

NEW DELHI: The HRD ministry has stressed on the need to strengthen the management structure of the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme at the district, block and school level. In a video-conference with state governments on Tuesday, school secretary R Bhattacharya said district magistrates should call meeting of committee of MPs every quarter and minutes of the meeting be uploaded immediately.
Bhattacharya said procurement of food grains and other material be regulated strictly. He told state officials that only branded oil — as is the practice in Maharashtra — be used. Specifically, he said branded oil in containers be bought rather than in loose quantity. As for food testing, he said food be tested by at least one teacher and one member of the school management committee that is predominated by parents. He asked all the states to ensure social auditing of the scheme regularly and pay heed to their advice and suggestion. It has been decided to hold a meeting of the National Steering Committee of MDM on July 25 to discuss the programme comprehensively.
Meeting also discussed the case of 11 states that have a common society to run the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhibyan and its larger financial implication. Because of the common society, financial liability in one programme results in delay in central funding to the other programme. The HRD ministry also reviewed the functioning of two direct benefit transfer programmes — national merit-cum-means scholarship and national girls scholarship.