Govt-aided schools tweak menu on ‘Poila Baisakh’ for students

Kolkata: School Education department has encouraged government-aided schools providing mid-day meals to include a special menu for the Bengali New Year day (Poila Baisakh) which will be observed across the state on April 15.

Schools across the state have been asked to tweak their menu for the day and try including food items like egg curry and sweets, amongst others in the menu to celebrate the first day of Bengali New Year. According to a state mid-day meal official, earlier these special menus were planned on a voluntary basis but this time, the schools have been asked by the department to try including a special food item in the menu.

Since the funds will be disbursed by the district administration, the special menu will be planned accordingly. However, the department has encouraged schools across the state to slightly modify the menu for the same. “It is a good-will gesture,” an official said.

According to an official, this will also act as an analytical tool to understand ways in which children can be attracted and brought under the coverage of the mid-day meal scheme. According to a survey conducted by the department, it was found that many students, particularly in urban-based schools, prefer home-made meals over meals offered under mid-day meals. Hence, through this slight modification in the menu, the department will be able to understand the preferences and work towards getting better results.

If the special menu on April 15 works well, the official said, the department may consider a special menu on other occasions as well. The headmaster of Jadavpur Vidyapith Partha Pratim Baidya is delighted by the initiative and hopes that the same can be provided for

other occasions.

“This will encourage the students,” Baidya said. His school gets the mid-day meals from a community kitchen. They have been asked to provide the special meal of egg curry, fried rice and a sweet for children on ‘Poila Baisakh.’ On a usual day, students are fed dal, rice and a vegetable curry while eggs are reserved for only Wednesdays.

The state government is all set to observe its first “Bangla Diwas” (Bengal Foundation Day) on April 15. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had allowed the state to hold the programme.

In September last year, the Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to observe Bangla Diwas on “Poila Baisakh” while selecting Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Banglar Maati, Banglar Jol’ (Bengal’s land, Bengal’s soil) as the state song.