Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies G.R. Anil will hold discussions on Wednesday to address the shortage of rice for the mid-day meal scheme in schools.
The shortage has reportedly been caused by Supplyco failing to lift rice from FCI godowns in the third quarter citing the arrears owed to it by the General Education department for supplying food kits to students during COVID-19.
Schools in districts such as Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram have complained that their rice stocks have run out. School authorities say they had been informing authorities for the past few days that their rice stocks could run out any moment, but these had not been replenished. Some schools that had no rice left were asked to borrow it from nearby schools. However, those schools too have no rice left to help out others. Mid-day meal distribution in many districts will be disrupted from Wednesday, the Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association said in a statement.
Even if schools purchase rice from outside to avoid disruptions to the mid-day meal scheme, the records show zero rice stocks. So distribution of mid-day meal will affect availability of the contingency fund to schools, say school authorities.
The government should intervene immediately to address this issue so that needy students who depend on mid-day meals do not suffer, they say.
Officials say a resolution will be found at Wednesday’s meeting between the Ministers.
