New Delhi: The Directorate of Education (DoE) will be hosting a mega camp for counselling parents to address the issue of malnutrition among children studying in the Delhi government schools.
The event which will be held on May 6 is aimed at addressing the issue of malnutrition among the government school students who have been identified under the “red zone”.
The camp will provide parents with essential information on nutrition and healthy eating habits to ensure their children receive a balanced and nutritious diet.
The state’s Education Minister Atishi said that along with providing quality education to every child her government is consistently taking steps to ensure children’s good health. “This mega camp will provide awareness to parents on healthy eating habits and their link to academic performance, physical activity and growth of the child,” she said.
She said that the government has been making several interventions to overcome malnutrition among children studying in the government schools like the “Mini Snack Break”. The pre-lunch break, scheduled 2.5 hours before the designated lunchtime, encourages children to consume nutritious foods. The schools have incorporated healthy food options into their weekly planner to motivate children to make healthy food choices.
In the mega camp, parents will be given guidance on low-cost high-nutritive value dishes by the teachers and will also be motivated to continue practising the mini snack break even during the summer vacation. In December 2022, the DoE directed all schools to prepare a weekly planner for nutritious food for children, in consultation with nutrition experts and teachers.
Additionally, the schools were instructed to host class-wise counselling sessions for parents on the topic of malnutrition.