The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has said all students studying in State schools who are eligible for the mid-day meal scheme should be provided the foodgrains at their homes till schools reopen.
The commission was suo motu taking cognisance of a report published in The Hindu, ‘Many schoolchildren may go hungry again’, that said students had not been distributed the foodgrains for April and May under the scheme.
Many students who belonged to backward sections depended on the mid-may meal for their survival. Over 26 lakh students were beneficiaries of the mid-day meal scheme. They were eligible for the foodgrains even during summer vacations. With uncertainly over school reopening owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, students were taking part in online classes sitting at home.
However, it was the right of students eligible for the mid-day meal scheme to receive the foodgrains at their homes in a manner decided by the government, commission member K. Nazeer said.
The commission asked the General Education Secretary and the Director of General Education to take steps to distribute the foodgrains.