Mid Day Meal Scheme in India: The Road Ahead

Abstract

Malnutrition has a far more powerful impact on child mortality than is generally appreciate. It involves long term deficit in mental, physical, social and emotional development that leaves children unable to take maximum advantage of learning opportunities in schools and are more likely to grow into malnourished adults, with a greater risk of disease and early death. Despite the fact that the prevalence of malnutrition has decreased in the past decades but still close to 1.3 million children die every year in India because of malnutrition, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). While it is a serious problem in sub-Saharan Africa, even higher rates of stunting are found in South Asia, particularly in India. According to the UNICEF India is the home to one in every three malnourished children in the world). Along with Nepal and Bangladesh, India has the world’s highest rate of malnutrition. In an effort to improve nutritional levels among children, and to encourage school attendance, in 2001, the Indian Supreme Court mandated a school feeding program, known as the “Mid-Day Meal Scheme.” The study indicates that the scheme has been successful in addressing ‘classroom hunger’’ and raising enrolment rates in the beneficiary schools. The contribution of mid day meal to food security and child nutrition seems to be particularly crucial in tribal areas where hunger is endemic. However, inefficiencies and leakages in the delivery system have severely limited the impact of the program. This paper aims to understand how the mid day meal scheme actually works on the ground and to identify the achievements so far as well as the remaining challenges.

Keywords: Mid Day Meal Scheme; NP-NSPE; Primary School Education, Food Safety; Nutritional Deficiency