Enrolment of children in schools providing mid-day meals showing a 'consistent' decline: CAG

The report also pointed out that the mechanism in place for assimilating data on the number of children availing themselves of the scheme was seriously compromised

The enrolment of children in schools providing mid-day meals (MDM) is showing a 'consistent' decline indicating that more and more people are seeking better education and not just food, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in a report that was tabled in the Parliament today.

In its report, the CAG said that the enrolment of children in the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDM Scheme) covered schools registered a consistent decline from 14.69 crore children in 2009-10 to 13.87 crore children in 2013-14. Whearas, in private schools it witnessed an increase of 38% from 4.02 crore to 5.53 crore during the same period indicating that Mid Day Meal in itself was not a sufficient condition to retain children in schools and that there is a growing section of society seeking better quality in education.

The CAG also pointed out that clear trends were noticed, which demonstrated that the meal served its purpose only when the expectation of the parents, with respect to good education for their wards, was fulfilled.

The report also pointed out that the mechanism in place for assimilating data on the number of children availing themselves of MDM was seriously compromised. The percentage of actual children availing MDM as gathered from various sources was consistently lower than that furnished by the states to the (HRD) Ministry for claiming cost of food grains and cooking costs.