Bengaluru: The Midday meals form an integral part of the schooling system especially in rural areas, with several children from deprived backgrounds depending on the scheme for a proper meal once a day.
But schools across Karnataka halted the scheme for over three months now since the nationwide lockdown.
Recently, BS Yediyurappa-led government decided to provide midday meal to children of drought-prone townships. Out of 249 such taluks only 49 taluks were selected and given nod by BJP government to restart the scheme.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, MD of community medicine and public health doctor Dr Sylvia said that mid-day meals remains a legal right of the children and it is in no way a charity offered by any government.
"Every child up to eight standard must be entitled to a nutritional meal with 450 to 700 calories, and 12 to 15 grams of protein," she said.
Looking at the numbers, over 36% of children in the state are malnourished and a huge percentage of them are found in Dalit colonies and tribal societies.
According to Dr Sylvia, undernutrition and stunting may lead to multiple complications and child will be more prone to infections, anaemia and diarrhoea. Especially during the pandemic, such children remain more likely to catch COVID-19 along with symptoms like respiratory infections.
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"There should always be school-based kitchens- it should be local, it should be diverse and culturally what children are used to. It should also be nutri-dense," she added.
In Karnataka, at least 53.47 lakh students in government and aided schools consume midday meals.
About 2.5 decades ago, the ‘Midday Meal’ scheme had come into existence to counter the hunger which stalls the kids from getting educated. It is unfortunate that even today, in many states there are huge lapses in the implementation of the same.
Initially designated as 'nutritional support for elementary education', each student should be provided with 300 calories and 8-12 grams of protein for at least two hundred days a year.
Around three-quarters of children across the country are suffering from malnutrition. As per the National Family Health Survey - 38 per cent of the population is underweight, as a balanced diet seems to be unattainable.
According to Dr. Sylvia promoting animal foods including the likes of milk, eggs, meat and fish is more important to meet the nutritional meal target across the nation.
