State: West Bengal

1. Cooked Mid-Day-Meal Programme Annual Work Plan & Budget 2011-12 State: West Bengal

2. As per 2001 census • The population of the state - 82 million. • The population density of the state - 904 per square K.M. • State’s population lives in rural areas-72%. • In urban areas-28%. • Scheduled Caste population in Rural Areas-28.6% • Scheduled Tribe population in Rural Areas-5.8% • Scheduled Caste population in UrbanAreas-19.9% • Scheduled Tribe population in UrbanAreas-1.5 % • Minority population of the State- 28.06% • The literacy rate in the state in 2001- 69.2% • Sex ratio for the age group 0-6 years in 2001- 963

3. From January, 2003 the Cooked Mid-Day-Meal Programme was started in West Bengal in 1100 schools of six districts. Thereafter coverage of schools increased gradually and till 2010-11 (Upto December) the Programme has covered 8519472 students studying in class I to Class V of 73841 Primary Schools and Shishu Shiksha Kendras, AIE centers etc. 3396453 students of Class VI to class VIII of 8715 Upper Primary schools and Madhyamik Shiksha Kendras, Madrasas etc. of the state.

4. The Total number of Schools and Coverage, 2010-11 PRIMARY UPPER PRIMARY

5. The total number of Enrolment and Coverage, 2010-11 PRIMARY UPPER PRIMARY

6. MDM PAB Approval Vs Performance Upper Primary Primary Schools

7. School Coverage Primary (Class I-V)

8. Enrollment Coverage Upper Primary (Class VI-VIII)

9. School Coverage (VI-VIII)

10. Coverage Enrolment of Primary Schools(Rural & Urban Areas)

11. Coverage Enrollment of Upper Primary Schools (Rural & Urban)

12. Cost of meal per child per school day

13. Status of Cooking Cost – Primary Schools (class I to V) Rs. in Lakh

14. Status of Cooking Cost – Upper Primary Schools (class VI to VIII) Rs. in Lakh

15. Status of Honorarium to Cook cum helper (class I to VIII) Rs. in Lakh

16. Status of MME (Class I to VIII) Rs. in Lakh

17. Status of Transportation Cost (Class I to VIII) Rs. in Lakh

18. Status of Cost of Rice (Class I to VIII) Rs. in Lakh

19. Utilization of Rice – Primary Schools (Class I to V) Fig. in MTs

20. Utilization of Rice – Upper Primary Schools (Class VI to VIII) Fig. in MTs

21. School Health Programme Eye Screening Performance (April to December 2010)

22. School Health Check up Programme (Class I-XII) Findings:- Besides above a large No. of students are suffering from Dysentery(20%), Acidity(10%), Allergic Manifestation(8%) ,Angular Stomatitis etc.

23. Kitchen –Cum-Store Construction of Kitchen-cum Store (I-VIII) • Due to price escalation 17631 Kitchen Sheds could not be started where fund @ 60,000 per unit has been allotted. • Requested to include the new plinth area norm • * proposal for allotment of fund has already been sent to the Govt. of India.

24. Procurement of kitchen Devices Class I-VIII • Fund @ Rs 5000/- has been released to the Districts for all the schools except NCLP Schools • For Schools where large number of students are studying, @ 5000/- for purchasing Kitchen Devices not suffice . So it is proposed to enhance the assistance to maximum Rs. 15,000/- per unit considering the students strength of the school.

25. 1.Quality improvement & Capacity Building :- • Food Technology Engineering Department, Jadavpur University & Institute of Hotel Management, Tara Tala, have been engaged to monitor the quality of food. • Master Trainers have been trained on hygiene matters in all the districts by the Institute of Hotel Management. They are now pertaining training to the members of the SHGs & other staff involved in cooking. • Engagement of mothers in MDM & unscheduled visits by senior officials to check quality & quantity of MDM. • Dove tailing of NREGA & Fisheries department’s demonstration centre schemes in the re-excavation of the school pond/tanks & Pisci-Culture in the re-excavated tank so that the yeild part of the fish & kitchen garden vegetables can be used in enrichment of MDM. • To equip the MDM officials in the districts and kolkata with knowledge of quality control, the Director, DDP&S of Food & Supply Deptt. has started imparting training on quality control in district in phases. 4/5 districts have completed training by this time.

26. 2. Involvement of SHGs :- • SHGs mainly involved in cooking • SHGs involved for purchasing cooking materials like vegetables, oil etc • Some SHGs maintaining Kitchen garden in East Medinapur & other places 3. Publicity • Press briefing done, News Paper advertisement made on salient features of MDM to maintain transparency. • Instructed DMs/SDOs/BDOs to use local cables, cinema slides, local News Papers for wide publicity. • TV Spots on MDM have been prepared. Shortly those would be telecast in various TV channels for awareness of the general masses. • Leaflets have been printed and circulated to the concerned areas.

27. 4.System for cooking, serving and supervising Mid Day Meals in the school  Cooking ingredients like pulses, vegetables including leafy ones, salt, condiments, oil and fuel etc. are purchased locally by the members of Self Help Groups/others. • Cooking and serving of cooked food are done by the members of the Self Help Groups excepting in the schools situated at DGHC areas.In DGHC areas it is done by the members of Mother Teacher Associations. Officials deputed from block/ sub-division/ district, ward councilors, the teachers of the concerned school, Panchayat members and mothers of the children supervise the Cooked Mid-Day-Meal Programme. Un-scheduled/scheduled visits by the senior officials like DM, ADM,SDOs,BDOs, DIs,ADIs,SIs and other of Govt. officials.

28. Grievance Redressal Mechanism Plan • A committee on Grievance Redressal relating to MDM Programme at the Block/Municipality Levels headed by the Block Development Officer at Block Level and executive Officer at Municipality Level has been formed. • The Committee will enquire into all complains on MDM and will take necessary remedial measures within 30 days from the date of receipt of complaints. • A log book is to be maintained at Block and Municipality Levels with particulars of such complaints and action taken would be recorded. • The concerned Block Development/ Executive Officer will submit a monthly report within 7th of the next month to the District on the natures of such complaints, date of receipt of the complaints and the action taken thereto and the District Magistrate will compile the same and will sent a monthly complied report to the project Director MDM, by 10th of the month. • Complaint Boxes are to be kept at every concerned level, telephone numbers have been given to the web-site for public complaints.

29. Findings of Quality Monitoring Team(January’10 to April’10)-Institute of Hotel Management,Taratala. • Basic infrastructures have been improved much . • Smokeless Chullas need be used to avoid smoke problem • LPG gas has been introduced in some schools. • Most of the schools visited prepared meal with Rice & mixed vegetables. Verities of menus are seen in various schools as per local test. • Separate Dinning Hall/Place constructed in many schools. • Water connections in many schools not sufficient. • “Considering financial constraints inadequate infrastructural facilities of Kitchen, Dinning Hall, the overall performance of Mid Day Meal Served in each school visited is satisfactory. They deserved appreciation for service of feeding students”- Comments.

30. Systems to ensure transparency and openness in all Aspects of the Programme implementation A:-Instructions have been issued to erect notice board in front of each and every school covered under CMDMP for displaying the following particulars.a) Total No. of students covered under the schemeb) No. of days and time when the meals are served.C) Quantity of food-grains to be supplied with weekly menu.D) Name of the cooking agenciese) Name of the BDO and SI of Schools with phone No.f) Any other matter.B:- Accounts of MDM are placed in the meetings of the concerned VEC/MC/WEC for approval.

31. Arrangement for Official inspections to MDM centers • District Magistrates, Additional District Magistrates and other district level officials, the Sub-Divisional Officers, Block Development Officers and other officials of the Block and the DIs and SIs of Schools are visiting schools and inspecting the Mid-Day-Meal scheme regularly. • In many cases the Sabhadhipaties of Zilla Parishad also visited some schools in their jurisdiction.  The State level officials also visit Mid-Day-Meal in schools when they visit the districts.

32. Feedback/comments of Monitoring Institutions:- • VisvaBharati University:- • Regularity in serving Mid-Day-Meal in upper primary schools in comparison to that of primary school is lagging behind. • REPLY: DMs have been requested to look into it seriously so that no interruption in the Mid-Day-Meal service is made during the school days. • Only 30% schools received cooking cost in advance. Hence the teachers have to run the Mid-Day-Meal on loan. • REPLY: Instructions has been issued to ensure that cooking costs are reached to schools in advance. • c) Besides rice, dal and seasonal vegetables, eggs are given 3 to 4 times in a month. • Reply: Instructed to see how frequent we can serve egg or the fish in a week as variety of menu is an attraction of Mid-Day-Meal.

33. Observations of the Institute of Hotel management, Taratala (Sept’10 to Jan’11) 1> Cyclic menu with balance diet is maintained on MDM menu at all schools except schools under Siliguri Subdivision. 2> Involvement of teaching staff for implementation of MDM Programme at schools level obtained better result. 3> Poor infrastructure facility at school for cooking MDM. 4> Inadequate facility at school for storing cooked MDM. 5> Inadequate facility at school for storing ingredients required for preparation of MDM. 6> Inadequate facility of space at school for serving MDM to children.

34. 7> Involvement of Local committees formed for regular monitoring MDM Programme parameter and Impact prameter at school is practically nil. 8> Facility for waste disposal system either from kitchen waste or from water and its proper utilization at school is not observed. 9> Weighing machine and Height measuring scale are not available in most of the schools. 10> Water quality of maximum numbers of deep tube wells installed at schools is not tested from appropriate authority. 11> Maximum number of schools used ordinary chulla for cooking MDM. Few schools used smokeless chulla and functioning satisfactorily.

35. A few Suggestions of the Institute of Hotel Management:- • 1) Kitchen-cum-stores to be constructed at each school as per students strength with proper drainage and ventilation facilities • 2) Arrangement of separate dinning hall at each school as per students strength for serving MDM to the children • 3) Installation of smokeless chulla at each school where coal/briquette./firewood is used as a source of fuel for cooking MDM • 4) Ensuring regular supply of rice and funds without any interruption • 5) Quarterly assessment about nutritional status of students at each schools on the basis of following impact must be maintained and proper action to be taken if any abnormality is identified- • i) Wait for age classification. • ii) Wait for height classification. • iii) Height for age classification. • Use of firewood should be replaced by coal/briquette/ gas as source of fuel in the interest of environmental protection • Necessary arrangement for running centrally organized kitchen covering all schools under municipal areas within the radius of2/3 K.M.

36. Use of renewable / non conversional Energy Sources • Proposal for electrification of 978 rural Secondary and higher Secondary Schools through use of renewable energy sources has been sent to the Director, West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency. • It will help for Cooking of MDM in such schools presently undertaken by use of coal / wood may be converted to renewable energy sources.

37. Good Practices:- i) Many schools grow vegetables in the kitchen gardens of the schools and utilize the vegetables in Mid-Day-Meal. In some schools in Birbhum & other districts, fish for Mid-Day-Meal is procured from the ponds managed by the school teachers. In some schools of PurbaMedinipur district the community members often contribute their agricultural produce to this Programme. Dove tailing of NREGA & Fisheries department’s demonstration centre schemes in the re-excavation of the school pond/tanks & Pisci-Culture in the re-excavated tank so that the yeild part of the fish & kitchen garden vegetables can be used in enrichment of MDM.

38. Assessments Implementation of the Programme in this State has contributed immensely towards achievement of the Programme objectives and its positive effects on attendance and nutritional status are being observed. Introduction of Mid-Day-Meal in Primary Schools, Shishu Shiksha Kendras, Upper Primary Schools and Madhyamik Shiksha Kendras has substantially increased enrolment. It has been able to reduce the drop out rate thereby ensuring satisfactory completion of primary education. • The Scheme has been able to attract more and more children of under-privileged section of the society to formal education system • It has also promoted gender empowerment by the increasing no. of employment opportunities for poor rural women.

39. Assessments • It has raised the health and nutritional status of children of Primary Schools, ShishuShikshaKendras, Upper Primary Schools and MadhyamikShikshaKendras. • It has raised the quality of primary education for all children. • In rural areas the coverage of MDM is satisfactory, we are facing some challenges in urban areas like kolkata, Siliguri, Asansol, etc. Other challenges are. • To install a MIS system for MDM reports and returns. • To construct hygienic pucca Kitchen-cum-store in all schools.

40. Budget Proposal for the year 2011-12 (Primary & Upper Primary Together)

41. Proposal for Food Grains and Recurring Cost for 2011-12

42. Hungry Summer Challenged by Mid-Day-Meal Potapara Pry. School, Purba Medinipur

43. Women Empowerment : SHG under preparation of Mid-Day-Meal Nimtala High School at Purba Medinipur District

44.  Thank you School Education Department Mid Day Meal Section West Bengal