PANAJI: The education department will soon introduce wide varieties of bhaji in its mid-day meal, regularly supplied to the schools around the state in order to break the monotony and ensure acceptance of the students for the meal.
The department has also issued a circular to the schools banning fast and junk food in their canteens in order to promote hygienic edibles among school students.
Director of education G P Bhat told this daily that many of the school students are not too keen on eating the food items provided under the mid-day meal scheme, as they get bored to eat same type of bhaji, served with bread every day.
“Taking cognisance of this fact, we have proposed to serve various kind of bhajis with bread and chapatti alternated during the week,” he added, pointing out that hike in the mid-day meal rates is mandatory, for the implementation of the proposal.
“The department has therefore forwarded the proposal to the government, which has received administrative approval today, and the same would now go for the sanction of the finance department,” he informed, noting that the self-help groups supplying food items under the scheme are not too keen on supplying chapattis as their preparation takes additional labour force, unlike bread, which can be ordered from the bakery.
As per a circular of the education department, the rates for supplying mid-day meal to the schools are Rs 5.71 per primary student per day and Rs 6.79, for each upper primary student per day.
The quantity fixed is 200 gms each towards the meal, for the primary students and 260 gms each towards the meal, for upper primary students.
Bhat said that based on a complaint, all the school have been issued circulars as regards stopping sale of junk food in their canteens.
“We have told the schools to refrain from selling fast food as well as aerated soft drinks in their premises and sell juices and hygienic food products.” he added, maintaining that the education department randomly inspects the school canteens to ensure obedience to the circular.
The circular further states, “It is understood that some of the educational establishments, secondary and higher secondary schools, which run canteen in their premises for the convenience of their students and staff are without the licence from the directorate of food and drugs administration. The same is essential, as food cooked and served under unhygienic conditions and consumption of such food creates public health issue.”
“All concerned heads of the institutions are hereby instructed to obtain licence for their canteen premises from the competent authority that is FDA, if they are running one, and also to maintain and operate the premises in hygienic conditions,” it adds.
Incidentally, many of the school canteens around the country, have been found to sell an array of food and beverages like chips, pizzas, burgers, ready-to-eat noodles, sugar-sweetened carbonated as well as non-carbonated drinks, and so on, which has forced the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to start an exercise as regards preparing negative list of products that are high on salt, sugar and fat, so as to prevent their availability in schools and their vicinity. The move comes in the wake of rising cases of diabetes and obesity, among youngsters.