Key Observations of MDM in Karaikal District: 1.Regularity in Serving Meals :

1. Pondicherry University (Period: 1st April to 30th September 2011)Districts monitored: Karaikal, Date of Visit to the School : July 2011 to Sept. 2011No. of schools Monitored (Primary & Upper Primary): 40 Key Observations of MDM in KaraikalDistrict: 1.Regularity in Serving Meals: Hot cooked meals is served daily without any interruption . 2.Trends: All children enrolled (17,588) opted for MDM 98.27 % of Children attended school on the day of visit As per MDM Register all enrolled children 17,588 avail MDM All children present actually avail MDM on the day of visit 17,532 Children availed MDM on the previous day.

2. 3. Regularity in delivering Foodgrains to the school: • In most of the schools visited the school implementing • agencies are receiving food grain regularly without any • interruption. • The food grains and vegetables are supplied by government • agency PASIC and PAPSCO . • Rice is Buffer stock for one month requirement. But the • grains are supplied weekly and vegetables every alternate days. • The food grains supplied are as per marked weight. • Food grains are delivered at the school. • The quality of food supplied to the schools is good • 4. Regularity in Disbursement of Cooking cost to the schools: • Cooking cost is delivered regularly to the school/implementing agency. • The MDM funds are received by the schools when released from CEO’s Office. • The cooking cost is paid through banking channel.

3. 5. Social Equity: • All the children take meals together and the same time and same place. No discrimination was observed in serving or seating arrangements. • MDM is served in the verandah of the school. The Students were made to sit in rows and the teacher will be monitoring to wash their plates, hand and dine without wasting the food. • The teacher will be assigned to monitored on rotation basis. 6. Variety of Menu: • MI observed that no such display boards of weekly menu either in the central kitchen or in the schools were found. The MDM /school in-charge were advised display it. • The central kitchen in- charge and in schools the Head Master decides the menu depending upon the availability of seasonal vegetables supplied by the PASIC • All the visited schools serve variety of food as per the statement of the students. • The daily menu includes rice with dhal and vegetables and weekly twice boiled egg is supplied. Every day morning and evening Milk with biscuits was also served to the students.

4. 7. Quality & Quantity of Meal: • Quality of meal is good in all the visited schools. As per the statement of the school children and from the parents the MI came to know that the quality of rice is not upto the mark as like served in the Puducherry region. They rose compliant that the rice was of pale yellow colour and even some time it smells bad. • Quantity of meals is sufficient and children found satisfactory even sometime the needy children’s were served second time. • The children in the visited schools were unhappy with quality of rice which is served at the same time they were satisfied with the dhal, vegetable, egg, milk, biscuits etc. • None of the children in the visited schools were found unhappy with the quantity of food served. 8. Supplementary: • There is no health card maintained in any of the schools. • Only in few school children were given micronutrients medicine in the visited schools. • The Health workers from nearby PHC.

5. 9. Status of Cooks: • Cook cum helper appointed by department cooks the meal and with help of MDM in-charge it is served to the students with the observation of the teachers in-charge assigned on routine basis. • Schools had sufficient cooks and helpers. In Karaikal there were two central kitchen which feeds to most of the schools there were well equipped with cooks and helpers. • Cook cum helper are paid regularly along with the Puducherry Government staff pay day. • Mostly cook cum helper is from deprived sections of the society SC,OBC and Minority there is no discrimination. 10. Infrastructure: • In one visited schools (GMS Karukankuddy) the class room was shared by the students and kitchen. The MI found during the functioning of the class hours the cooking helper is boiling the Milk to serve the children for evening hot milk and biscuits scheme to children.

6. Food is being cooked in one of the rooms and food grains also stored in the HM room. • Two central kitchen is well equipped with modern steam cooking vessels which are connected with safe portable water connection. Rest of the schools were cooking is carried out has good water facility for cooking. • Almost all the schools were provided with safe drinking water facility connected with RO water purifier. • Central kitchen uses Diesel steam cooking unit. • The rest of visited schools uses firewood and kerosene stove as fuel for cooking food.

7. 11. Safety & Hygiene: • Drainage facilities and the environment in central Kitchen at T.R.Pattinam which feeds to 21 schools is not clean and hygiene. • The vegetables/waste foods were disposed around the Kitchen shed which pose threat for hygienic cooking environment. • In short the authorities should take immediate action for safety and hygienic cooking environment. • All the children are encouraged to wash hands before and after taking meals. • children are properly made to sit and take meals and has been observed by the teachers while the students are dining • Cooking process and storage of fuel was found safe and it does not pose any fire hazard in any of the schools visited.

8. 12. Community Participation and Awareness: • Almost all the visited schools by the MI it was found that the VEC members are used to visit occasionally, to monitor and participate in the school activities. • MDM has improved the enrollment, attendance and general wellbeing of the children. 13. Any other issues relevant to MDM implementation: • In MDM Menu board items names are not displayed in the visited schools. **