Students in Goa to get curry-chapati in mid-day meal

After food contamination complaints and students' reluctance to eat rice-based mid-day meals, Goa's education department has decided to include legume curry-chapati, a local popular snack, in the menu.

Speaking to IANS on Tuesday Education Department Director G. Bhat said the decision to change the snack was enforced from November 2 and the response of the students as well as the management about the changed menu, will be studied by the department.

"The new food list contains bhaji with chapatti or bread as the alternative. Rice-based pulao was not very popular with students, which is why it was changed. We have also increased the per head rate of the mid-day meal which will ensure that students will get more nutritious food," Bhat said.

The new mid-day meal menu will consist of a curry made of locally available legumes like masoor, chawli, chowli, etc with chapati or bread as accompaniment.

According to an Education Department circular, issued to all school managements last month, a mid-day meal for primary school students should comprise of 450 calories and 12 gms of protein, while for high school students, the calorie-protein content should be 700 gms and 20 gms respectively.