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Mid-day meal not served in 20% of Bihar schools as teachers boycott duties

Out Of 38,000 Schools From Where Reports Came, Mid-day Meals Were Not Served In 8000 Schools Due To The Boycott By Teachers, Principal Secretary Education Department Amarjeet Sinha Told Reporters In Patna.

PTI | Updated on: 25 Jul 2013, 07:58:51 PM

Patna:

Mid-day meals for students in Bihar could not be served in over 20 per cent schools on Thursday as primary school teachers boycotted the duties, with the state government calling the decision as irresponsible and said it would inform the Supreme Court.

"Out of 38,000 schools from where reports came, mid-day meals were not served in 8000 schools due to the boycott by teachers," Principal Secretary Education Department Amarjeet Sinha told reporters in Patna.

The maximum number of schools where midday meals were affected were in Saran, Purnea and Sheohar districts, he said.

Sinha said that the boycott decision violated rulings of the Supreme Court in 2001 as well in 2004 that children should be served hot cooked food as part of midday meal scheme.

He said the situation was being evaluated and the Supreme Court would be informed about it.Sinha said the teachers would also be asked to give an explanation.

He appealed to the teachers to cooperate in successfulimplementation of the midday meal scheme.Brajnandan Sharma, President, Bihar Primary School Teachers Association, however, claimed to agencies that food could not be served in 95 per cent schools in the state and the boycott would continue.

Sharma said that the mid-day meal duties interfered with teaching and also brought a bad name to them because of corruption indulged in by others.

Repeated requests made to the government to remove primary teachers from midday meal duty and to appoint an agency for the task, were ignored, he said adding this compelled them to take boycott decision.

A total of 70,260 schools of Bihar were covered under the midday meal scheme benefiting 1.40 crore children.

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First Published : 25 Jul 2013, 07:55:00 PM

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