West Bengal govt fixes menu for mid-day meal in schools

After the shocking incident of boiled rice and salt served to students during mid-day meal in a school in Hooghly district came to light, the West Bengal government has suspended two teachers of the institute and has also fixed a menu for the mid-day meal, an official said.

Two teachers of the Chunchura Banimandir Balika Bidyalaya have been suspended after footage of the students being served rice and salt triggered an outrage on Monday last prompting Education minister Partha Chatterjee to order a departmental probe into the incident and promise strict action.

A School Education department official said on Saturday that the two, one former teacher-in-charge and the other present teacher-in-charge were put under suspension on Tuesday, a day after the incident was reported in tv channels and BJP MP Locket Chatterjee rushed to the school demanding all those found to be involved in giving rice and salt to the children instead of the scheduled routine menu be punished.

"We will take further action on the basis of probe which is still on," the official said but didn't divulge identify of the two teachers.

In the wake of the incident, the School Education department on Thursday sent notification to all District Magistrates asking them for strictly maintaining the menu and also gave a chart which specified on which date which type of menu will be served.

A copy of the notification to the DM of East Midnapore district specified - rice, dal, potato, vegetable curry will have to be served on Monday, rice, dal, egg/fish curry will be given on Tuesday, rice, dal, mixed vegetable will be given on Wednesday.

Rice, fish or egg curry, vegetables will be given on Thursday, rice dal, potato curry (posto) for Friday and rice dal, soyabean and potato curry for children on Saturday, it said.

All officials, in-charge of midday meals have been asked "to instruct all local level officers, education supervisors to visit cent percent schools" (all the schools) from August 24 to August 31 to monitor the midday meal is provided in a proper manner to the students and send compiled report everyday to the School Education department.

Copies of the notifications were made available on Saturday.

The move by the department was preceded by Education minister Partha Chatterjee earlier asserting that the government will "do everything" to ensure children get the proper kind of mid-day meal and there will be "zero tolerance" to any attempt to deprive children of their prescribed midday meal menu.