MDM SCHEME MONITORING REPORT OF TAMIL NADU

1. MDM SCHEME MONITORING REPORT OF TAMIL NADU IIT MADRAS (MONITORING INSTITUTION) Period of the Report 1st April 2012 – 30th September 2012

2. Evaluation of mdm scheme in 4 districts of tamilnadu during the period 1st April - 30thseptember 2012

3. MDM SCHEME – ENROLLED VS AVAILED Values in brackets indicate: * Percentage of students present on the day of visit against the total enrollment in school **Percentage of students availed MDM against the students present in the school on the day of visit

4. DISTRIBUTION OF MID DAY MEALS IN SCHOOLS

5. Kitchen, storage and display of menu • Condition of the Kitchen • Working condition is not healthy for the kitchen staff and there is no proper ventilation • Shifting to gas based cooking will improve the situation • Storage of Food grains • In 96 schools the food grains are stored in the store room. In 64 schools it is stored in the class rooms. • Display of Menu • Pudukottai: The menu was displayed only in 4 of the Residential Special Training Centers, KASA Arimalam, RDO Arimalam, Word Thiruvarangulam and PMSSS Pudukottai. However, in RDO Arimalam, the food displayed in the menu was not served to the children. It was mentioned as Bread Omlette for breakfast on Sunday but the children had been served with rice porridge. • Madurai: The menu was displayed only in the 3 schools (PUPS Ammapatti, PUPS Vidathikulam and PUMS Chinthamani)either on the notice board or on the black board. The remaining 37 schools did not have a weekly display of the menu. • In other districts, menu was not displayed anywhere.

6. Kitchen, storage and display of menu

7. Social composition in the appointment of cook cum helpers • The number of cooks and helpers are inadequate to meet the requirements in some of the schools due to vacancies. • The Organisers, Cooks are Helpers in most of the schools belong to BC or MBC community. • SC community cooks and helpers are appointed only in Adi-dravida welfare schools • A Special Case In MPL Kammapatti Middle School, Srivilliputhur, there was a resistance from the village community against the appointment of a cook who belongs to the SC community (The news was also published in The Hindu dated 6th July 2012). The parents did not want a SC community woman to cook or serve food for their children. Eventually, the cook was transferred and appointed elsewhere.

8. BUFFER STOCK • The buffer stock of 45 days requirement is maintained in 56 schools and 30 days requirement in 102 schools • In Government ADW school Mallal the stock is maintained for 35 days • in PUMS Kadukkakadu (Pudukottai District) there is no stock. The stock was over by 6-8-12 and they had not yet received food grains. The organizer was buying food grains from outside for credit

9. Variety of menu, quantity and quality • Variety of Menu • The daily menu includes rice, dal, eggs and vegetables. • There is no wheat preparation • Quality of Food • Except few schools like(PUMS Keelapasalai – Sivaganga, PUPS Manavalankarai – Pudukottai) the quality of food is satisfactory in ALLschools • Quantity of Food • The students were satisfactory with the quantity of food provided in almost all the schools

10. Sanitation and hygiene • Hand wash • No prompts from the teachers/organizer were noticed during the field visit • In 75% of the schools, students wash their hands before and after meal and in the remaining 25% schools the children wash their hands only after the meal. • Madurai: In 4 schools (PUMS Aritapatti, PUPS Mullipallam, ADWPS Anaikulam and Municipality PS Mamsapuram) the students use soap to wash their hands but there is only single soap that is being used by all the students. • Virudhunagar: In 3 schools (PUPS Udayanathapuram, PUPS Sathyanagar and PUPS Notchikulam) the students use soap to wash their hands but there is only single soap that is being used by all the students. • Sivaganga: In 4 schools (PUMS Kanjirangal, PUMS Thuvar, PUPS Vaigaivadakarai and PUMS Kannankudi) the students use soap to wash their hands but there is only single soap that is being used by all the students. • Pudukottai: In 6 schools (PUPS Narikuravar colony, PUPS Kannangaragudi, PUES Pisanathur, PUPS Soorakadu, PUMS Kadakkukadu and PUPS Keelapatti) the students use soap to wash their hands but there is only single soap that is being used by all the students.

11. Adequate water and utensils • Adequacy of Utensils • 116 schools (72%) have reported that the utensils used for cooking are inadequate • In PUPS Muthupatti (Sivaganga District), the organizer had spent his personal money for the purchase of utensils. • Availability of Water • 97 Schools (60%) have access to Panchayat or Municipality water. The remaining schools have their own hand pump or bore well inside the school campus • In few schools, sponsors have provided RO plants and water purifiers for water purification

12. Community participation and accountability • Community Participation • There is lack of community participation to contribute towards the betterment for the implementation of MDM scheme • Periodic Health checkups • The Health Check Up happens once in a year in 72 schools and in 88 schools the health check up happens once in 6 months. • The health card is maintained only in 60 schools and the remaining 100 schools do not maintain the health card properly • Audit and Inspection • There was no state level audit or inspection carried out to monitor the MDM implementation in majority of the schools

13. CHALLENGES • Ensuring consistent supply of good quality grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits • Impressing upon the local community the importance of MDM as an effective tool to counter caste, class and gender based discrimination • Fostering larger community involvement in order to realize the above