Ambala: Cooking cost revised after 2 years, teachers’ body says not enough for midday meal

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, October 9

After a gap of two years, the Ministry of Education has revised the material cost earlier known as cooking cost, for the midday meal provided to government school students, by 9.6 per cent over and above the existing cooking cost under the PM Poshan scheme.

Will help schools: DEO

The government has revised the cooking cost and it will definitely help schools in smooth functioning of the midday meal scheme and providing good quality meals to students. — Sudhir Kalra, District Education Officer

Hike in prices

The government has revised the prices by just 9.6 per cent and the revision is inadequate. The cost of gas cylinders has almost doubled and there is a sharp increase in the prices of cooking oil and vegetables.  — Amit Chhabra, District President, Rajkiya Prathmik Shikshak Sangh

However, the teachers’ association seems to be dissatisfied with the revision and terms it as ‘inadequate’. There have been repeated demands for the revision due to hike in the prices of cooking gas, oil, pulses, and vegetables.

As per information, the revised rates of material cost are admissible with effect from October 1. The cooking cost was last revised in 2020. The Centre and the state governments fund the scheme at a 60:40 ratio.

While for Bal Vatika and primary classes (Class I to V) the material cost per child per day has been increased to Rs 5.45 from earlier Rs 4.97, and for classes VI to VIII, the cost has been increased to Rs 8.17 from the earlier Rs 7.45.

However, the Rajkiya Prathmik Shikshak Sangh had been demanding Rs 7 and Rs 9 per child per day for the primary and upper primary classes, respectively.

According to the letter issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy (PM Poshan Division) the material cost rates indicate the minimum mandatory contribution by the state government and UT administrations. However, the states and UTs may contribute more than their prescribed share as some had been contributing more than their mandatory share from their own resources for providing meals with augmented nutrition under the PM Poshan scheme.

Amit Chhabra, district president of the sangh, said, “The government has revised the prices by just 9.6 per cent and the revision is inadequate because the cooking cost has increased drastically over the past couple of years. The cost of gas cylinders has almost doubled and there is a sharp increase in the prices of cooking oil and vegetables. Moreover, in this session, the cooking cost has been provided twice only (in May and July). The state government should provide adequate funds for the smooth functioning of the midday meal scheme.”

While flour and rice are provided by the department, the cooking material, including pulses, spices, salt, oil and other ingredients are arranged by the school, Amit said. District Education Officer Sudhir Kalra said, “The government has revised the cooking cost and it will definitely help the schools in the smooth functioning of the midday meal scheme and providing good quality meals to students.”