Midday meal quality check starts in S Dinajpur schools
BALURGHAT: A special inspection team comprising high-ranked administrative officials started midday meals inspection in different government-aided schools of South Dinajpur on Tuesday.
District Magistrate C Murugan said: "We want to ensure the distribution of good quality midday meal materials in the correct quantity prescribed by the state government. On Tuesday, all the DMDCs, SDOs, BDOs and officers from the School Education department of the district have visited educational institutions in different block areas."
According to him, the midday meal distribution will continue for another two days.
"At the end of completing the distribution process, we will meet together to discuss the shortcomings in order to rectify the same in coming months," he said.
Murugan also visited schools on Tuesday in order to check the distribution process by the school authorities. Sources said before distributing the items, the school authorities were instructed to sanitise the school compounds properly following the surge in Covid cases in the district.
The inspection team will give special attention to adherence of Covid protocols and social distancing norms.
"In any situation, no student will be allowed to take the items from the school.
"The guardians will not be entertained to enter the school premises without wearing masks," an official said.
Notably, the state government had earlier decided to provide rice, potato, pulses, soyabean, Bengal-gram, sugar and soap to the students from primary level to Class VIII of its schools who are eligible for midday meals but are staying at home following the second wave of pandemic.
Guardians of these students are asked to come to the respective schools to collect 2 kg of rice, 1 kg of potatoes, 1 kg of Bengal-gram, 250 gram of pulses, 500 gram of sugar, 200 gram of soyabean and soap.
Meanwhile, the head of the institutions were directed to remotely supervise the distribution with the help of local teachers and midday meal support staff.
