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18% schoolchildren have eye problems: Report
Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

MHRD report findings At least 18 per cent children enrolled under the mid-day meal scheme do not go to school because they cannot see properly and their refractive errors need to be corrected Illness and disabilities are also responsible for absenteeism and drop-out cases Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan figure among the states that have ignored integration of the "school health programme" with the mid-day meal scheme Report findings are satisfactory on the health front in case of Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh etc.

Chandigarh, November 27
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) report for the first quarter of the 2013-2014 session on the mid-day meal scheme points out that at least 18 per cent of the enrolled children do not go to school because they "cannot see properly and their refractive errors need to be corrected".

More than 10 crore students are covered under the scheme in more than 12.63 lakh schools and Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) centres.

The report further says that student "illness" and disabilities are also responsible for absenteeism and drop-out cases. The MHRD has been emphasising on the health component under the scheme. It has asked schools to use funds made available as National Rural Health Mission grants for boosting health of students.

The report shows that several states have ignored the component of integrating the "school health programme (SHP)" with the mid-day meal scheme. States where not even a single child has been covered under the SHP include Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Lakshadeep and Puducherry.

The report findings are satisfactory on the health front in the states of Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

It has underlined the need to hold regular meetings of state steering-cum-monitoring committees. Only 13 such meetings were recorded at the state level in the first quarter, the report says.

A special mention has been made about "not properly" trained self-help groups and cooks. "Helpers, who are pillars of the mid-day meal scheme, mainly come from deprived sections of society where they have limited information about nutrition, cooking processes, health and hygiene, besides cleanliness," it reads.