Bihar teachers withdraw boycott of mid-day meals

School teachers in Bihar Monday withdrew their boycott of the mid-day meal scheme. They will cooperate with the operation of the scheme from Tuesday, Bihar Education Minister P.K. Shahi said.

The teachers have decided to withdraw the boycott on an assurance from the state government that they would be spared work related to the scheme in a phased manner in six months' time, the education minister said.

Three lakh school teachers in Bihar began a boycott of the the mid-day meal scheme from July 25, demanding that they be spared non-academic work.

The boycott, in the wake of the tragedy in Saran district July 16 that left 23 school children dead as food was poisoned with a chemical used in insecticides, had badly affected the mid-day meal scheme in the state.

Bihar State Primary Teachers' Association president Barajnandan Sharma said: "After the government assured us that it would make alternative arrangements to run the scheme, teachers have decided to cooperate with the mid-day meal scheme."

The mid-day meal scheme is running in 72,000 schools across the state, and 1.60 crore students avail hot, freshly cooked meals under the scheme.