The Meghalaya government today admitted a nexus between school managing committees and distributors of foodgrain which has badly affected implementation of the Mid-day Meal Scheme (MDM). The government made the admission after a review meeting of the scheme in north-eastern states with Central Government officials here. Parliamentary Secretary Mass and Elementary Education Ampareen Lyngdoh told the media that certain managing committees and distributors were in nexus that resulted in distribution of poor quality foodgrain in schools under the scheme.

RS 2 lakh could have solved many of the problems this unemployed graduate was facing. But Samsher could not have lived with the guilt if had used the money. The Ambala resident had picked up a bag containing the cash by mistake. As soon as he realised that, Samsher handed it over to the police. His honesty paid off. Director Public Instruction (Schools) S K Setia promised Samsher a supervisor's job under Mid Day Meal scheme on a salary of Rs 6,000 on Thursday.

The State cabinet today approved the Mid-Day meal scheme to the students of standard five to eight. Disclosing this at a press conference, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said that the scheme which was now catering only to the primary level and would now cover middle school (from fifth to eighth standard). He said the scheme will have a financial implication of Rs 9 crore annually. Presently around 76,000 students are covered under the scheme and the new scheme will cover additional 86,782 students from government and government aided schools.

Cooch Behar : More than 2,000 people had put up a road blockade and gheraoed Saheb Mohammed High School at Rashidanga in Kotwali after over 12.5 quintals of rice in sacks meant for mid-day meals were found in an adjoining pond this morning. The villagers alleged that the teachers, including the headmaster, who had come to the school

The Population Research Centre's latest report on the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme in Chandigarh reveals a stark divide among the consumption patterns of students depending on the type and status of school. Students in the rural government schools tend to consume a full meal as compared to their urban counterparts. This has lead to an increase in the enrollment ratios and improved the retention rates in the rural schools.

A conflict is brewing between the human resource development (HRD) ministry and the Food Corporation of India (FCI), with HRD Minister Arjun Singh writing to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar complaining that adequate food grains are not being supplied to the states for the mid-day meal scheme.

Delay on the part of State governments to pick up their allocation for the Mid-Day Meal programme in April has cost them dear. As per a directive of the Union Food Ministry, the allocation for the first month of this fiscal has lapsed; a decision that has not gone down too well with the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry. While HRD Ministry appreciates the rationale in the Food Ministry's contention that there should not be any retrospective lifting of foodgrains, it is of the view that the decision should not be forced upon States without a warning.

The mid-day meal programme, being run in the State, for school children at times makes headlines for all the wrong reasons. In several schools and anganwadis the tendency of providing sub-standard food or serving less food has become common. Government brings these schemes and programmes with good intentions but its implementation is not done properly. The basic aim of the mid-day meal plan is to create interest among the children towards school and study. On the one hand the children get food for one time in a day whereas in this pretext they come to study in schools.

Elementary education being the foundation of pyramid in the education system has been accorded high priority. To ensure "Education for All' the Department of School Education and Literacy has a multi pronged approach. Two flagship programmes are being implemented viz. the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Mid-Day Meal Programme (MDM).

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Tuesday called upon the corporate sector to perform its social responsibility in other sectors such as education, social service, power and development by working together with the people and the government. Addressing a session on public-private partnership at a national convention on "Corporate social responsibility' in New Delhi, Ms. Raje said the corporate sector's collaboration with other stakeholders would bring prosperity to it and help evolve its positive role in the progress of the nation.