Assessment of Mid-Day Meal Scheme in PLAN intervention Districts of Bihar

Transcription

1 Assessment of Mid-Day Meal Scheme in PLAN intervention Districts of Bihar 2014 Alliance to Covert Vision in Developmental Action (ACVIDA) 1 P age

2 Acknowledgement At the outset, I owe my sincere sense of gratitude to Mr. Tushar Kanti Das, Plan India and Mr. Ratnish Verma, Nidan for providing opportunity to conduct the study. I would also like to thank the officials of Bihar Government, for their consistent cooperation, support and inputs for making this study more contexts specific and relevant. They deserve all the recognition not only for providing quality inputs but also for their continuous effort to make this scheme a success. Plan India Partners who have been really instrumental for facilitating and coordinating with various district officials and also with school during the study are true companions of this successful accomplishment for which I owe my gratitude, without their immense support and inputs this study would have been a reality. School Leaders, Teachers, Community members, Parents, SMC members and above all children who provided value suggestions and inputs for this project are real contributors of this study to produce it in its present shape. I am truly indebted to their support and contribution. Last but not the least our research team members especially Vineet Mishra, Sandeep Singh and Vishkha who really deserves appreciation for their consistence and quality participation to organize and conduct interview, collect relevant data for this study even during the time of general elections and accomplished this utmost responsibility. Along with these two the entire team deserves real appreciation for their direct and indirect to successful completion of this study. I am indebted to my respected advisory members whose inputs shaped and contextualized this work. Sandeep C. Mishra ACVIDA 2 P age

3 TABLE OF CONTENT Chapter 1- Executive Summary Chapter 2: Introduction Chapter 3: Study objectives and methodology Chapter 4: Study findings and Recommendations Conclude Bibliography & References Annexure: Annexure-1: List of schools Annexure-2: Study schedules Schedule-A Schedule-B Schedule-C Schedule-D Schedule-E 3 P age

4 CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMARY Bihar as third most populous state in the country accounts for 3% of the total area of the country and 8% of the population with high decadal growth across the country. With 43% literacy rate it ranks lowest amongst all 29 states and 7 UTs of the county. The economy of the state is characterized by high incidence of poverty, low literacy rate, unemployment and low per capita income. It accounts for the land of 23.8 million kids of 6-14 years age group which poses serious challenges on stakeholders to ensure good quality education and nutrition for those who are falling under school going age. Mid Day Meal in schools has had a long history in India. In 1925, a Mid Day Meal Programme was introduced for disadvantaged children in Madras Municipal Corporation. By the mid 1980s three States viz. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the UT of Pondicherry had universalized a cooked Mid Day Meal Programme with their own resources for children studying at the primary stage. Mid Day Meal was also being provided to children in Tribal Areas in some States like Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. By the number of States implementing the mid day meal programme with their own resources on a universal or a large scale had increased to twelve, namely, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. In another three States, namely Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal, the programme was being implemented with State resources in combination with international assistance. Another two States, namely Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan were implementing the programme entirely with international assistance. With revisions in 1995, 2002 and finally in 2006 NP-NSPE, 2006 covers major guidelines to run effective and quality MDM programme in schools across the country. 4 P age

5 NP-NSPE, 2006 seeks to address two of the most pressing problems for the majority of children in India, namely, hunger and education by: 1. Improving the nutritional status of children in classes I V in Government, Local Body and Government aided schools, and EGS and AIE centres. 2. Encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities. 3. Providing nutritional support to children of primary stage in drought-affected areas during summer vacation. Since its inception the quality and safety aspects has been paramount for its effective and harmless delivery at schools level. Aimed to equate with following Quality & Safety guidelines i (no exhaustive) MDM scheme is running across the country and so in the state of Bihar. Methodology: Based on the framework of the study it includes both Qualitative & Quantitative methods to produce an effective tool. The study is based on primary and secondary data. The secondary data was collected from the various levels that include officials from state, district and blocks that are responsible for effective implementation of the scheme. It also covers views and thoughts of District education officers and district project officers of Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Saran and Jamui. The primary data sources units are schools wherein the data was collected with in-depth interviews with Head Teachers, teachers, Cooking staffs and children to collect the first hand information of the status of the scheme. The school observation has been one of the crucial tools for the validation of responses at every step of the data collection. Focus group discussions included views of SMCs and parents who are one of key stakeholder of the scheme. 5 P age

6 Major findings of the study: In its present form whatsoever the scheme is at least being implemented in schools of surveyed districts which is a remarkable fact about the scheme. The scheme which was initiated to enhance enrolment and retention but in most of the cases classes don t run post MDM. The timing (one hour) for serving MDM is matter of concern where majority of respondents face challenges to complete entire service of MDM to every children in one hour. The time management has been a concern across the schools visited and people interviewed. Some of the schools lack proper planning at school level which adversely affects the purpose of the scheme and affects quality of teaching badly. In majority schools SMC or community involvement ensuring quality and effectiveness of the scheme is very bleak and instead of helping schools to run the programme effectively they often poses contrary challenges for school staffs which creates a kind of disconnect between school and community. Most of the cases SMCs found nearly nonfunctional for school matters be it MDM or any other programmes which are aimed to provide good quality education. Children parliaments (Balsansad) and and Girls Forum (Mina manch) are not given any chance to give their opinion on quality and taste of cooked meal supplied to their peers and classmates. All school s stakeholders aware the positive impact of this program. But many a times their personal interest eats up the core objective of the scheme. On infrastructure side more than 50 % schools don t have proper kitchen and store room facilities. Utensils are available for preparing food but in maximum schools plates are not in sufficient number so that children are take their plate or in lunch time they go to their home and take their plate. Towels and soaps for cleaning hands are not in more than 99% schools. Cash book and stock register are maintained. 6 P age

7 Whenever MDM distribution is stop or interruption in the midday meal, most of the time the only reason is that shortage of ration supply. Teachers are involved with the HM in distribution of MDM. Most of the time food items received by school during school time. Majority HMs are not satisfied with the quality of ration supplied for MDM. Schools received food item in gross weight which sometimes reduces the quantity than the norm. In most of the school food is tasted by HM or teacher with the rasoiya and register is also maintained for this purpose. Quantity of the food served to children according to children necessity, there is no certain restriction for quantity of the food but given the time allocated for MDM and the processes involved for serving the food give children very less time to consume the food. Parents and community members are not very satisfied with quality of food, they often are not involved in the process and there seems a complete gap between school and parents. The quality of food being served is of average quality in majority of schools because of average quality of materials and grains supplied to schools. Recommendations: Frequent changes in price of ingredients like prices of vegetables, oil and pulses so it becomes difficult for HM to meet the costs. Therefore there must be a regular review of the charges. Parents and community members should be involved in monitoring and distribution in midday meal. Proper kitchen and store room must be in every school. So that safety measures can be followed. Ration should be supplied to schools on the basis of net weight. 7 P age

8 Food items must be reached schools within time frame whenever information given by HM/ MDM In charge. Quality of food was improving but there is scope for improvement, especially in context of rice. Most of the schools want Usna (boiled paddy) rice in comparison arwa (unboiled paddy) rice. There should be sufficient number of serving plates for children so that they are not running around to wait and borrow utensils from their fellow friend. This will reduce time for MDM in school and might be used as an effective tool to manage the time. Schools should know the clear purpose of the scheme as this has been mellowed down in huge logistics. Head Teachers should be given some orientation on human resource management side so that they can leverage resources from the schools and community as well. 8 P age

9 CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION Historical background of MDM scheme: MDMS was initially launched in the state on 1st September, 2004, with an initial coverage of about 1 lakh children. The cooked mid-day meals are being served in all the primary schools of the state from January Coverage under the scheme increased gradually and all children in classes I-V, including those in EGS / AIE centres, were covered from April The MDMS was introduced in UPS in all the 530 EBBs since March The state government is paisa per child and the Central Govt. gives Rs.1.50 per child per day. From , the scheme is covering UPS in all blocks of the State. The scheme is implemented by Vidyalaya Shiksha Samiti (VSS), a 17-member body of parents for school development and community participation, constituted under the Bihar VSS Act At least one third of the members of the Samiti are mothers. The state govt. has delinked the procurement of food-grains and cooking tasks from teachers and handed them to Panchayat workers and Mata Samitis/ Self-Help Groups. The Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme is being implemented in the State since January 2005, nearly after 4 months of its launch on 1 st September 2004 followed by the notification by the State Government on 18th December 2004 to implement the MDM in all primary schools in Bihar. Earlier in , the State had experimented with the provision of cooked meal in about 2531 schools, spread over 30 blocks in 10 districts. It was later scaled up to all of 15,000 schools in these districts, covering about 30 lakh children. Further, the programme has been implemented in all the 38 districts of Bihar since the year P age

10 The Mid Day Meal scheme is world s largest child feeding programme. It is one of the most innovative schemes for the school children. The National Programmed of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE), as this scheme is now formally known as, had its origin in Tamil Nadu, but the Central Govt. adopted it and now the programme runs all over India. As the major share of responsibility of preparing young children to be productive citizens of the country falls on Govt. schools, the scheme is being implemented in all the Govt., Local Bodies and Govt. Aided Primary Schools in the entire State the programme was also started in all upper Primary Schools from April, P age

11 The main objective of the scheme is to increase enrolment, retention and attendance of children in primary & upper Primary Schools and to improve the nutritional level of such children through supplementary nutrition. Bihar is located in the eastern part of the country (between 83 30' to 88 00' longitude). Bihar is the 12th largest State and 3rd most populated State in India. Bihar lies mid-way between West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west, which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. It is bounded by Nepal in the north and by Jharkhand in the south (which was earlier part of the state and became independent state in 2001). River Ganga flows from west to east intersecting Bihar s plains into two uneven parts. The state has very ancient history of epicenter of power during Guptas and Mauryas and became powerful land of culture, art and painting which exist even today in the form of Madhubani. Learning institutes like Nalanda University, Takshashila and Vikramshila existence goes dates back to 3 rd century BC which clearly shows its fertile land of spreading knowledge of various disciplines, religions and cultures. For over 1000 years, ancient Bihar known as Magadha played a pivotal position in leading political power on the land of India. Post independence the economy of Bihar was never as good as it is today. Recent statistics on state income has revealed that there has been a comprehensive improvement in the economy of Bihar. The state has witnessed a high growth rate at percent during the Eleventh Plan period ( ). The investment pattern also shows a massive upsurge - the average annual plan size was Rs. 4,200 crore during the Tenth Plan period ( ) which has become more than Rs. 16,200 crore during the Eleventh Plan period. The estimated GSDP of Bihar at current prices in is Rs lakh crore which raises the per capita income to Rs. 25, 653. Agriculture and Animal Husbandry sector in Bihar was a mere 2.99 percent in ; that has significantly climbed to 5.93 percent during This fact needs special mention as 90 percent of the state's population depends upon agriculture for their livelihood. 11 P age

12 Guidelines for preparation of nutritious and economical Mid- Day Meal: The Mid-Day Meal programme does not merely aim to provide a cooked meal, but one satisfying prescribed nutritional norms. At the same time, this has to be done within certain cost norms. Following are some suggestions which would help in achieving the twin-objectives 1 :- - Food grains must be stored in a place away from moisture, in air tight containers/bins to avoid infestation. - Use whole wheat or broken wheat (dalia) for preparing mid-day meals. - Rice should preferably be parboiled or unpolished. - Single Dish Meals using broken wheat or rice and incorporating some amount of a pulse or soybeans, a seasonal vegetable/green leafy vegetable, and some amount of edible oil will save both time and fuel besides being nutritious. Broken wheat pulao, leafy khicheri, upma, dal-vegetable bhaat are some examples of single dish meals. - Cereal pulse combination is necessary to have good quality protein. - The cereal pulse ratio could range from 3:1 to 5:1. - Sprouted pulses have more nutrients and should be incorporated in single dish meals. - Leafy vegetables when added to any preparation should be thoroughly washed before cutting and should not be subjected to washing after cutting. - Soaking of rice, dal, bengal gram etc. reduces cooking time. Wash the grains thoroughly and soak in just sufficient amount of water required for cooking. - Rice water if left after cooking should be mixed with dal if these are cooked separately and should never be thrown away. - Fermentation improves nutritive value. Preparation of idli, dosa, dhokla etc. may be encouraged. - Cooking must be done with the lid on to avoid loss of nutrients. 1 Guidelines of the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, 2006 ; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Scheme, New Delhi. 12 P age

13 - Over cooking should be avoided. - Reheating of oil used for frying is harmful and should be avoided. - Leafy tops of carrots, radish, turnips etc should not be thrown but utilized in preparing mid day meals - Only iodised salt should be used for cooking mid-day meals. Safety and Hygiene Specifications: Special attention must be paid to the following: - Kitchen-cum-store is a vital part of the mid day meal scheme. Absence of kitchen-cum-store or inadequate facilities would expose children to food poisoning and other health hazards as well as fire accidents. Kitchen-cumstores should be separate from classrooms, preferably located at a safe, but accessible distance. They should be well ventilated and designed so that there is a separate storage facility with locks to check pilferage. On no account should kitchen-cum-stores have thatched roofs or other inflammables, like straw, bamboo and synthetic material. - Smokeless chulhas should be used to the extent possible. - Fuel (kerosene/fuel wood/charcoal/lpg) should be stored safely, so that there is no fire hazard. - To the extent possible firewood should not be used in the interest of environmental protection. - If kerosene/gas is used for cooking, the cooking staff /agency should be specifically trained in safe handling of stoves, gas cylinders, etc. - All cooks, helpers and other functionaries should also be trained in hygienic habits, for example, regular cutting of nails, washing hands and feet with soap before commencement of cooking/serving, etc - Kitchen-cum-storage shed must always be kept clean. There should be a raised platform for cooking, adequate light, proper ventilation and arrangement for drainage and waste disposal; 13 P age

14 - Ingredients used for cooking, food grains, pulses, vegetables, cooking oil and condiments, should be free from adulteration and pest infestation, and should be used only after proper cleaning and washing; - Ingredients should be stored in proper containers, which should protect them from moisture, pests, etc. - Cooking and serving utensils should be properly cleaned and dried every day after use. Supply chain mechanism To achieve the objectives a cooked mid day meal with standard nutritional be provided to all children studying in classes I-V. The scheme s components were revised which provides following components: (i) Supply of free food grains 100 grams per child per School Day from the nearest FCI godown (ii) Reimbursement of the actual cost incurred in transportation of food grains from nearest FCI godown to the Primary School subject to the following ceiling : a. Rs.100 per quintal for 11 special category States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and b. Rs.75 per quintal for all other States and UTs (iii) Provision of assistance for cooking cost at the following rates : a. States in North-Eastern Rs.1.80per child per school day provided the State Govt. contributes a minimum of 20 paise. b. For other States & UTs Rs.1.50 per child per school day provided the State Govt./UT administration contributes a minimum of 50- paise. 14 P age

15 (iv) State Governments/UT administrations are required to provide the above minimum contribution in order to be eligible for the enhanced rate of Central assistance mentioned above. (v) Provision of assistance for cooked Mid-Day Meal during summer vacations to school children in areas declared by State Governments as "drought-affected". (vi) Provision of assistance to construct kitchen-cum-store in a phased manner up to a maximum of Rs.60,000 per unit. However, as allocations under MDMS for construction of kitchen-cum-store for all schools in next 2-3 years may not be adequate states would be expected to proactively pursue convergence with other development programmes for this purpose. (Also please see para 2.5 in this regard). (vii) Provision of assistance in a phased manner for replacement of kitchen devices at an average cost of Rs.5,000 per school. The States/UT administration will have the flexibility to incur expenditure on the items listed below on the basis of the actual requirements of the school (provided that the overall average for the State/UT administration remains Rs.5000 per school). a. Cooking devices (Stove, Chulha, etc.) b. Containers for storage of food grains and other ingredients. c. Utensils for cooking and serving. (viii) Provision of assistance to States/UTs for Management, Monitoring & Evaluation (MME) at the rate of 1.8% of total assistance on a. Free food grains, b. Transport cost and c. Cooking cost. Another 0.2% of the above amount will be utilized at the Central Government for management, monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring Mechanism: The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development has prescribed a comprehensive and elaborate mechanism for monitoring 15 Page

16 and supervision of the Mid Day Meal Scheme. The monitoring mechanism includes the following: Arrangements for local level monitoring: Representatives of Gram Panchayats/Gram Sabhas, members of VECs, PTAs, SDMCs as well as Mothers' Committees are required to monitor the (i) regularity and wholesomeness of the mid day meal served to children, (ii) cleanliness in cooking and serving of the mid day meal, (iii) timeliness in procurement of good quality ingredients, fuel, etc. (iv) implementation of varied menu, (v) social and gender equity. This is required to be done on a daily basis. Display of Information under Right to Information Act: In order to ensure that there is transparency and accountability, all schools and centres where the programme is being implemented are required to display information suomoto. This includes information on: o o o o o o Quality of food grains received, date of receipt. Quantity of food grains utilized. Other ingredients purchased, utilized Number of children given mid day meal. Daily Menu Roster of Community Members involved in the programme. Inspections by State Government Officers: Officers of the State Government/UTs belonging to the Departments of Revenue, Rural Development, Education and other related sectors, such as Women and Child Development, Food, Health are also required to inspect schools and centres where the programme is being implemented. It has been recommended that 25% of primary schools/egs & AIE centres are visited every quarter. 16 P age

17 Responsibility of Food Corporation of India (FCI): The FCI is responsible for the continuous availability of adequate food grains in its Depots (and in Principal Distribution Centres in the case of North East Region). It allows lifting of food grains for any month/quarter upto one month in advance so that supply chain of food grains remains uninterrupted. For the NP-NSPE, 2006, the FCI is mandated to issue food grains of best available quality, which will in any case be at least of Fair Average Quality (FAQ). The FCI appoints a Nodal Officer for each State to take care of various problems in supply of food grains under the MDM Programme. The District Collector/CEO of Zila Panchayat ensures that food grains of at least FAQ are issued by FCI after joint inspection by a team consisting of FCI and the nominee of the Collector and/or Chief Executive Officer, District Panchayat, and confirmation by them that the grain conforms to at least FAQ norms. Periodic Returns: The State Government/UT is also required to submit periodic returns to the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India to provide information on: (i) coverage of children and institutions, (ii) Progress in utilisation of Central assistance, including cooking costs, transportation, construction of kitchen sheds and procurement of kitchen devices. Monitoring by Institutions of Social Science Research: Forty One Institutions of Social Science Research, identified for monitoring the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, are also entrusted with the task of monitoring the Mid Day Scheme. 17 P age

18 Grievance Redressal: States and Union Territories are required to develop a dedicated mechanism for public grievance redressal, which should be widely publicized and made easily accessible. Give the fact above it can easily been understood that guidelines for MDM implementation touch almost all possible aspects that one can imagine for effective implementation of this programme. The study outlays the deep diagnosis of present status in line with policies laid down for its implementation. It covers various aspects of quality, supply chain, stakeholders involvement, monitoring structure, infrastructural gap analysis and also perspective of children on quality of food served. 18 P age

19 CHAPTER 3 STUDY OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY Objectives of the study: Mid-Day Meal scheme in Bihar popularly known as Dopahar is being implemented since 2005 with a gazette notification by the state government to cover schools in the state. The programme has had very mixed experience when it comes to its implementation. There have been enormous positive sides of the scheme to generate interest among children for schooling but also had some very unwelcoming instances which pose lot many questions and challenges that need to be addressed through. On the one hand it gives lot many good practices to feel proud of where on the other some recent incidents certainly downsized the effort of the state which needs to be looked through so as to avoid such implication and ensure good delivery mechanic of this benign cause in its fullest manner. There generate crucial need for stakeholders working in the field of policy advocacy to understand the situation at ground and try and advocate some positive policy changes at state level to get this service delivered in more full proof manner. Therefore the present study is aimed to identify critical advocacy points for facilitating a robust system for its implementation and suggest policy changes the present study is sets its objective as follow, To portray the ground realities of MDM scheme implementation in identified districts To understand the status of Supply Chain Mechanism in MDM delivery To identify critical bottlenecks in MDM implementation in plan s intervention districts in Bihar To create evidence and identify tools for long-term policy advocacy with State Government 19 P age

20 To suggest possible action points for effective MDM scheme implementation in the state. Methodology: Based on the framework of the study it includes both Qualitative & Quantitative methods to produce an effective tool. The study is based on primary and secondary data. The secondary data was collected from the various levels that include officials from state, district and blocks that are responsible for effective implementation of the scheme. It also covers views and thoughts of District education officers and district project officers of Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Saran and Jamui. The primary data sources units are schools wherein the data was collected with in-depth interviews with Head Teachers, teachers, Cooking staffs and children to collect the first hand information of the status of the scheme. The school observation has been one of the crucial tools for the validation of responses at every step of the data collection. Focus group discussions included views of SMCs and parents who are one of key stakeholder of the scheme. Detailed process of methodology covers following steps to get in-depth understanding of ground situation to suggest positive doable strategies to combat with existing situations at ground. 1. Desk Review (Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, 12th Five Year plan Documents, NP-NPSE 2006 guidelines, Government Official Orders, Policy papers on MDM Scheme and any other relevant documents.) 2. In-depth interaction with Govt. Officials and Elected Representatives 3. Focused Group interaction with community involving SMC members, Bhojanmatas and Children. 20 P age

21 4. Structured interaction with VOs/NGOs/CSOs 5. Data analysis 6. Data Compilation, collation and Report preparation & sharing Sampling Design: Since the study is spread over 5 districts of Bihar, a stratified random sampling at block level and simple random sampling at school level is being proposed to choose the samples. The coverage of the study will be in 5 districts (Muzaffarpur, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur & Jamui) of Bihar. However the state level Government functionaries will be interacted in Patna. Data Analysis techniques: The study covered three steps data collection and validation processes- school level, district level and state level. Research team visited schools to collect primary information on pre-designed formats. There been cross validation by another team who was involved conducting Focused group discussion, the validation process was completed through school observation and by interacting children. Block level and district level officials were interview under clear pointers to validate the data received from field. The state level officials were interviewed to understand the policy implications and available support and monitoring mechanism for better implementation of the scheme. Overall the process was pre-designed with space of contextual flexibility to include certain situational question emerged during the process of school observation and FGDs. Validation and triangulation of information received through various formats were completed. 21 P age

22 Using the tool, the resource team undertook in-depth consultations and focused group interactions which provided critical and qualitative inputs to the evaluation process and reporting. Based on local realities and contexts necessary questions were added to the pre designed tools. The entire was ensured to be collected certain standard information / data from each community meetings to ensure aggregation of information / data. There been special focus on interacting with parents, teachers, PRI members and especially girl child from the community. The community feedback was collected about their level of participation in the scheme, their levels of direct and indirect influence on quality concerns etc. The method of interview contained open ended questions to get detail qualitative information keeping the objectivity of response on various segments.. Study Tools: Based on prepared a checklist of questions and pointers for identified respondents resource team followed three step data collection and validation process for consistent data collection from the field. The three level of data collection and validation process include respondents from schools, districts and state level officials. The pre-designed tools (see annexure attached) were adopted for one team of resource persons to cover ground level information under pre-designed questionnaires with openness to adopt contextual flexibilities to include some of the question evolved during school observation and FGDs. Questions/pointers designed to incorporate various aspects related with good practices, challenges in service delivery & supply chain, bottlenecks of implementation etc. Apart from questionnaires Focused Group Interaction s guidelines were used to facilitate FGDs and collect qualitative information pertaining to obtain quality inputs for designing the effective advocacy tool. Along with above proposed information the tool include wider aspect to gather information of quality of food grains received, supply flow, quantity of food grains utilized, other ingredients purchased, utilized, number of children given served, daily Menu and roster of Community Members involved in the programme. 22 P age

23 School Observation: Research team conducted school observation of MDM cooking and delivery process to validate the information collected through the in-depth interviews. Data Source & Verification The data was collected from two sources, primary and secondary. Selection of samples was purposive with stratified random selection. Schools per block were chosen keeping their distances from the block headquarters. One school with close block proximity and the other with far off location were selected to get diversified views on various aspects of the study. Primary data: Interviews: ( State Director-MDM, 1-State Food advisor/member of food security committee, 4-DEOs, 5-DPOs MDM, 23-HMs, 100-Children) FGD: 1 per district School observation: 23 Primary data collection involved detailed interviews and focus group discussions with SMC members, children, cooks, teachers and others involved with the scheme. Questionnaire, observation & information schedules used to gather data. Secondary data: Relevant secondary data like Government orders, school records, bills and vouchers, registers, etc. were collected from C&DSE Office (MDM section, state head quarters), DEO office (district head quarters), BEO office and schools. Focused group discussion: To capture holistic views of different stakeholders Focused Group Discussions were carried out. Structured FGD guidelines were used to facilitate and ensure participatory 23 Page

24 FGD outcomes. Major part of the study was aimed to collect qualitative data on coded guidelines and actual reality at ground. Various stakeholders like school SMC members, parents of children studying in the school, PRI members and children were included in the FGD. The facilitation part included avoidance of any leading questions with the group that up to maximum possibilities was a homogeneous group specifically identified for this purpose to avoid any leading and swiping situation during the discussion. Schedules: SCHEDULE-A: State level schedule SCHEDULE-B: District level schedule SCHEDULE-C: School level schedule SCHEDULE-D: School level observation schedule SCHEDULE-E: Focused Group Discussion Guidelines With above mentioned objectives, methodology & tools used in this study the present form of the report gives detailed qualitative analysis of the programme at ground. In its focus area of survey study incorporate and amalgamate various information, suggestions and inputs received from various respondents across five districts of the state where Plan India has its operation. The detailed finding and recommendations follow under coming chapters of this report. 24 P age

25 CHAPTER 4 STUDY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS With core objectives set forth for the present study the designed study components effectively used to collect and collate information pertaining to MDM implementation in the focused districts of Bihar. Data collected was analyzed basis of cross validation and triangulation process and the findings were amalgamated in the form of advocacy points for strategizing policy level discussion for effective implementation of the scheme. Holistic observations included pertinent parts of designing out effective advocacy tool for various agencies and stakeholders working in the field of right based policy approach. Based on visits to as many as 5 districts, 9 blocks, 23 schools and various levels stakeholders discussion, interviews and group discussion the present form of the study includes major findings pertaining to change the scenario a little if not much. Given the fact at ground and bottlenecks existing at various levels of planning, execution, delivery and implementation of the scheme, a critical analysis of status was carried out and following findings are suggested. Children Enrolment & Retention: Children enrolment and retention has been core matters of concern in the government school. MDM has its genesis in the belief that it will certainly improve the status of enrolment and retention in government schools of the state. The outcome of this scheme shows significant increase in enrolment & Retention. The graph below shows that the enrolment has significantly increased in majority of schools however the other indicators viz. Improvement in nutrition & health, affect of this scheme on socialization and some indirect positive outcomes are still matter of concern. 25 P age

26 improvement in enrolment Attanndance increased Improve nutrition & health Affecting the socialization Preventing children in buying food frm hawkers Yes No Infrastructure, Health & Hygiene: As one of the crucial aspects of quality Mid-day Meal delivery at school level it seems important to have availability of the infrastructure. To ensure good quality of cooked meal, maintain hygiene and also to avoid any local contamination in cooked food it is always suggestive to have good quality infrastructure at ground. There are certain measures that suggest availability of basic infrastructure at ground however following status were found at the targeted areas wherein the study was carried out no Yes 26 P age

27 During the school observation it was found that 20 schools have no boundary wall hence no security available to protect school premises from any ill factored outside dangers. This certainly keeps schools on disposal of animals and any other such elements that can easily pose vulnerability to lives of tender aged children in the schools. Along with outside fatal dangers it also present challenge for schools administration to ensure sound environment for day to day classroom practices. Kitchen shed were found in majority of Middle schools but Primary schools face a lot of difficulty in absence of such facilities in their schools. Approximately 15 Primary schools do not have either kitchen sheds or separate store rooms. In absence of such structure they often fail to maintain the quality of stored food grain item that are otherwise should be stored and kept in proper manner. The moisture affects the quality of food grains which get rotten in long run hence produces a scenario where there is not much quality stock to cater children with quality cooked meal. 27 P age

28 Prima-facie it is hardly found that there exists any satisfactory level of hygiene. It was found that most of the schools do not have any structured utensils cleaning facilities and potable water that can be used to clean the raw food items. Kitchen rooms, wherever found available are mostly made of mud and covered by tiles which is really an old structure and have become house of many poisonous insects and creature. One can easily find species like lizards and cockroach running around the area Mid-Day Meal is cooked. The unavailability of proper utensils does not provide space to cover cooked food items hence puts the meal open to any poisonous contamination which becomes fatal in certain cases. Nearly all schools does not have any hand washing facilities available for kids and they are not being supplied any hand washing items so as to ensure clean hand before consuming their meal. This scenario poses indispensable situations for bacterial infections in many kids consuming MDM without washing their hands before the meal. During the field visits in 23 schools except 2 schools most of the schools were found to have hand pumps but in most of the cases those were not functional. Wherever hand pumps found functional are not sufficient enough to cater the need of kids for hand washing and drinking. Majority of schools do have toilets but the cleanliness is certainly an issue of core concern. Unavailability of proper water sources and in some cases doors toilets is neither clean nor safe. The broken floors provide extra space for serious infectious implications on the health of especially female kids and poses vulnerability. Towels and soaps for cleaning hands are not in more than 99% schools. 28 P age

29 Record Maintenance: Cash book maintained Stock Register maintained Yes No Supply Chain Mechanism: Majority schools understand good cause behind the objective of this scheme however at the same time they number of them do not understand the core principle behind this benign scheme. The logistics involved and the lack of proper resources majority schools find present form of scheme contrary to their commitment to quality education. Except very few cases most of the HMs and teachers find present form very resource cumbersome and fid difficult with copping up with their time constraint which they feel adversely affecting children learning. Nevertheless some schools have been doing very well in terms of quality and time management for its effective implementation without hampering their daily classroom practices. Time and resource management is found to be an issue at school level. Some other observations are as follow, In all cases specified Menu is followed to cook the food but the quality is certainly the matter of core concern. More emphasis is being given on aligning with listed food items but quality measures are generally not being taken into consideration. 29 P age

30 The loopholes in supply chain is also been reported which entails many schools to compromise on the quantity of food grains being supplied. The gross weight is the measurement on which schools have been provided the food grain items. Monitoring and motivational process is very important at all level at supply chain. HMs required motivational session who suggested for centralized kitchen. And who suggested that to assess if MDM has had any adverse effect on teaching/ learning activities in the schools. Lack of awareness on core objective of the scheme was found in majority of schools and at every level of delivery mechanism. In its present form whatsoever the scheme is at least being implemented in schools of surveyed districts which is a remarkable fact about the scheme. The timing (one hour) for serving MDM is matter of concern where majority of respondents face challenges to complete entire service of MDM to every children in one hour. The time management has been a concern across the schools visted and people interviewed. Some of the schools lack proper planning at school level which adversely affects the purpose of the scheme and affects quality of teaching badly. 30 P age

31 During School time After school time 5 0 Receipt of food items Note -: most of the time HM accepted that the received food items during school time but in some time the received after school time Involvement of stakeholders in MDM management: In majority of cases the involvement of stakeholders is negligible in MDM management & monitoring 2. Despite the intent of having child centric policies in place many places were observed children are not participated or not engaged in any decision making by schools. There is a big gap between policy (theory) and implementation (pratical). Within 25 schools, any school is not able to involve children according to prescribed manner. It was observed only one school in Vaishali district taking help of BalSansad and Meenamanch children in distribution of Mid-Day Meal. Based on one to one interaction with children some facts and comments were received. Their feeling about MDM is also not very welcoming in terms of its correlation with the quality and regularity of their education and classroom practices. There been many commenst from children interacted Such as: Dilipkumar is a class 8 th student in MS Chausima Kalyanpur school says, म र ज द पहर म ख न नह ख त, जब ख न खल य ज त ह त म अपन द त क स थ ख लत ह l ख न खल न क पहल 2 Note: In context of improvement in enrolment and attendance increased 4 HM also includes some other government schemes are also contributed in them not only MDM. 31 P age

32 त हम ल ग क म पढत ह ल कन ख न क घ ट ह न क ब द बह त कम पद ई ह त ह l (eng translation: I don t consume MDM on regular basis, when MDM served I often play with my fellow classmates and friends ). In middle school, Maker, Sunil, Amit and Chandan are participated in FGDs. They are also a member of BalSansad. Chandan said that, मड ड मल जब भ बनत ह तब बच क स य अधक रहत ह, जब नह बनत त स य थ ड़ कम ह ज त ह ( When MDM is served the number of students in school remains high but when it is not served it decreases ), another child Sunil says, कभ कभ च प कल पर इ तज र बह त करन पड़त ह ( sometimes we que for long time for water at handpump ) One of the student named Lakshman in Middle school Bakhari, Muzaffarpur, said that, क ल म द त क स थ ख न बह त अछ लगत ह ( I like having lunch with friends ). 32 P age

33 Yes No 5 0 SMC, NGO, Panchyat, SHG helps in disribution and monitroing of MDM In majority schools SMC or community involvement ensuring quality and effectiveness of the scheme is very bleak and instead of helping schools to run the programme effectively they often poses contrary challenges for school staffs which creates a kind of disconnect between school and community. Most of the cases SMCs found nearly nonfunctional for school matters be it MDM or any other programmes which are aimed to provide good quality education. Children parliaments (Balsansad) and and Girls Forum (Mina manch) are not given any chance to give their opinion on quality and taste of cooked meal supplied to their peers and classmates. All school s stakeholders aware the positive impact of this program. But many a times their personal interest eats up the core objective of the scheme. Utensils are available for preparing food but in maximum schools plates are not in sufficient number so that children are take their plate or in lunch time they go to their home and take their plate. Whenever MDM distribution is stop or interruption in the midday meal, most of the time the only reason is that shortage of ration supply. 33 P age

34 Teachers are involved with the HM in distribution of MDM. Most of the time food items received by school during school running hours, which affects teaching learning. Majority HMs are not satisfied with the quality of ration supplied for MDM. Schools received food item in gross weight which sometimes reduces the quantity than the norm. In most of the school food is tasted by HM or teacher with the rasoiya and register is also maintained for this purpose. Quantity of the food served to children according to children necessity, there is no certain restriction for quantity of the food but given the time allocated for MDM and the processes involved for serving the food give children very less time to consume the food. Parents and community members are not very satisfied with quality of food, they often are not involved in the process and there seems a complete gap between school and parents. The quality of food being served is of average quality in majority of schools because of average quality of materials and grains supplied to schools. There have been issues regarding timing of MDM supply in schools. For morning shift schools during summers the MDM timing is am which do not match with the appetite of younger kids as they come school early hence leave school mid way to rush their home to have food. 34 P age

35 RECOMMENDATIONS Infrastructure: 1. Inadequate infrastructure has been a core matter of concern which affects the quality of food grains stored for cooking purpose. Proper kitchen and store room must be constructed in every school so that safety measures can be followed. As an immediate solution, in certain cases where this has become a serious need tile roofed ceiling can be covered either with asbestos or any Tirpal sort of materials so that contamination and poisoning can be ruled out. Children & Community Participation: 1. To enhance interest in cooked food children must be asked to give their feedback on the Menu, taste and quality of food which can ensure their ownership in the process. 2. One possible way is to capacitate Bal Sansad & Meenamanch on this subject and setting up responsibility at school to ensure their effective participation for purposeful implementation of the scheme. 3. Suggestions Boxes for children s feedback on MDM can be put in place and a mechanism to review feedback on weekly basis can be developed between school and SMC. 4. During the study it was observed that the quality of food is improving but there still is scope for improvement, especially in context of rice. Most of the schools want Usna (boiled paddy) rice in comparison arwa (un-boiled paddy) rice. 5. Parents and community members should be involved in monitoring and distribution in midday meal. One way of doing this may be strengthening the School Management Committee on the objectives of MDM and create roster for each household to support the process regularly on rotation basis. 35 P age

36 6. Plans for community awareness to be designed to ensure effective community participation to minimize involvement of the teachers for MDM. If these local cooks are empowered enough to lend hands in purchasing vegetables and other condiments required for daily MDM preparation. So, that teacher can actually concentrate on teaching learning activities. Training, orientation & capacity building: 1. Schools should know the clear purpose of the scheme as this has been mellowed down in huge logistics. The possible way to discuss MDM improvement related issues in weekly/bi-monthly/monthly school meetings. 2. Head Teachers should be given some orientation on human resource management side so that they can leverage resources from the schools and community as well 3. The cooks and helpers of the schools need to be oriented on the best methods of cooking in less time and less wastage of food grains. 4. Inspection Rosters are to be prepared for every school to ensure that all Primary and Upper Primary Schools and EGS/AIE centers are inspected at least once every three months. 5. Capacity development plan for BRP & DRP found to be one of the crucial areas to focus upon. 6. Duties and responsibilities of all DRP and BRP needs to be more specific so as to set accountability on their part. 7. Community mobilization towards objective and their role to fulfil those objectives should be done to get their proper engagement in the process. 36 P age

37 Health & Nutrition: 1. The meals should be made more nutrients dense and nutritionally balanced by using channa/rajmah more frequently and improving the consistency. Inclusion of higher amounts of non tuber vegetables, especially the green leafy ones, is recommended. 2. Drinking water should be tested for any type of biological contamination and remedial purification be done accordingly. 3. Engagement of cook-cum-helpers as per norm, 4. Strengthening the monitoring mechanism, 5. Cleanliness of the toilets, 6. Training of cook-cum-helpers, 7. Laboratory testing of cooked meal 8. Convergence with School Health Programme Supply Chain Mechanism: 1. Frequent changes in price of ingredients like prices of vegetables, oil and pulses so it becomes difficult for HM to meet the costs. Therefore there must be a regular review of the charges. 2. Ration should be supplied to schools on the basis of net weight. The supply chain mechanism should have clear reporting mechanism and strict monitoring on food grains supply should be established to minimize transition loss in supply. 3. Food items must be reached schools within time frame whenever information given by HM/ MDM In charge. 4. There should be sufficient number of serving plates for children so that they are not running around to wait and borrow utensils from their fellow friend. This will reduce time for MDM in school and might be used as an effective tool to manage the time. 37 P age

38 5. Setting up of a grievance reddressal system and its redressal in time-bound manner should be in place to avoid any delay in the process. 6. Monitoring system needs to be strengthened by providing extra facility in terms of training and use of ICT. 7. Monitoring of food grain distribution chain to ensure quality standards is one of the core areas to keep tight track on. 8. The new system put in place by the state needs to be followed up and strengthened. Based on the facts and observations it can clearly be suggested that the urgency and relevance of serving the cooked Mid-Day Meal is beyond question. Lack of support at various levels and inadequate management of this scheme poses serious challenges and concern, which seems to be caused by the lack of will at different levels. It is hard to overlook the operational problems in carrying out this scheme in schools, but the commitment or the lack thereof in monitoring mechanism diluting its purpose up to significant extent. A little enhancement in commitment, management procedure, food safety monitoring and collaboration and in fund allocation can make a major difference in the quality of meal. Apart from in time fund allocation and enhancing the cook s salary/honorarium, there is an urgent need for reviewing & re-organizing the allocation, improve infrastructure facilities and regularising the fund. Apart from the policy issues, some of the ground realities are also paramount to take into core consideration. Our field observational experience suggest that orientating & organising the local people and establishing an effective mechanism to involve them actively could really be a stimulating factor for sustained quality implementation of the Mid-Day Meal programme. 38 P age

39 CONCLUDE There are rare chances of any better quote on MDM to conclude this study than the words of Dreze and Goel: The experience so far clearly shows that mid-day meals have much to contribute to the well-being and future of Indian children. As things stand, the Mid-Day Meal programme has many flaws, but the way to go is forward and not backward. 3 Nevertheless the possibilities of this programme far prevail over the problems involved in its operation. With intention to serve its twin objectives, on the one hand, it presents a tremendous impetus to the parental aspiration of acquiring education by their children. On the other, it has offered the opportunity of ending classroom hunger and eventually undernutrition among the children. That the programme has certainly resulted into satisfying the objective of ending classroom hunger up to significant extent thereby has had strong impact on the parents of children attending schools. However the loose structural binding and lack of commitment has consistently been an area of concern across the line. The operational problems involved in its implementation were found includes, (a) poor quality of meal, that resulted out of lower allocation, bleak coordination, poor quality management in cooking, lack of proper cleanliness and many other operational problems; (b) delay in availability of funds, (d) lack of infrastructure, such as kitchen shed and dining space, (e) lesser scope of public participation, and so on. After unfortunate deaths of many children in one district and followed by another incident in another some public attention has been attracted, but a lot more needs to be done. That undoubtedly requires political will on policy side and commitment and seriousness in implementation. The lack of ownership of the process at various levels poses lot many threatening situations to life of children. The non-functionality of School Management Committees, Lack of awareness at community, lack of ownership at school, lack of 3 The Future of Mid-Day Meals, Jean Drèze and Aparajita Goyal, p P age

40 political at policy, lack of seriousness in delivery & monitoring mechanism has diminished the purpose of the programme that ultimately resulting into poor food quality in many cases and poisoning in some. To align with the purpose of the programme and to rule out any serious consequences on health and future of the children it is a high time to take this benign responsibility very serious with commitment of zeroing down risks and dangers involve in its operation and quality. 40 P age

41 QUOTES AND REFERENCES 1. Guidelines of the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, launched in August, 1995, 2006; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Scheme, New Delhi. 2. Right to Food Campaign (2005): Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food: A Tool for Action, New Delhi. 3. The Future of Mid-Day Meals, Dreze & Goel, New Delhi 4. Minutes of the Meeting of the Programme Approval Board for Mid-Day Meal Scheme from 2009, 2013, 2014; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Mid-Day Meal Division, New Delhi 41 P age

42 ANNEXURES Annexure-1- List of Schools Sl. No List of Schools for MDM Study Name of the School Village Block District 1 Upgraded Middle School, Kesopatti Kesopatti Kalyanpur Samastipur 2 Upgraded Middle School, Bhagirathpur 3 Upgraded Middle School, Maniyarpur 4 4, Primary School Urdu, Gopalpur 5 5, Primary School, Chakwegam (Chaknruddin) Bhagirathpur Maniyarpur Gopalpur Chakwegam- Chaknruddin 6 Upgrated Middle school Siriram Pur Parasa Saran 7 Primary School Bhatha Kasba Maker Maker 8 Middle school Anjani Kasba Maker Maker 9 Nav Sirijit Primary School Mujona Parasa 10 Upgrated Middle School Baghakol 11 Middle school baikunth pur (Gadh) Baghakol 12 Middle school Berai Berai 13 Middle school bilandpur Bilandpur 14 Middle school chausimaklyanpur Maker Baikunthpur RAJAPAKAR VAISHALI Chaushima Kalyanpur 15 Buniyadi middle school Jafarptti 16 Rajkiye Urdu Madhya vidhyalay 17 Rajkiye Adharasha Madhya Vidhyalay Pakki saraye Mussahari Muzaffarpur Bakhari Katra 18 UtkarmitVidhyalayPakari Pakri Kanti 19 Rajkiye Prathamik vidhyalay Paranti Purvi Bochahan 20 Rajkiye Mussahar Prathamik vidhyalay Sikhandarpur purvi Mussahari 21. Middle school, Harni Harni Khaira Jamui Middle school, Ghanberia Ghanberia Primary school, Kasmir Kasmir 42 P age

43 Annexure-2- Schedules Schedule-A State Level Schedule 1. Allocation of funds & Expenditure under MDM Scheme of Elementary Education: (Rs. In lakh) S.No. Year Requisition of fundsallocation of fundsexpenditure Centre State Total Centre State Total Centre State Total Number of schools availing MDM. Number of Schools Availing MDM Year Total Primary Middle Total Primary Middle Whether Monitoring Committee Yes/No Constituted (a) If yes, year of its formation. (b) Structure of Monitoring Committee. ( c ) No. of meetings held (d) Observations/minutes of the meetings 4. (a) Improvement in enrolment Yes/No (b) Imrovement in attendance Yes/No 5. Do you feel that a lot of time of teaching/learning activity Yes/No is wasted in distributing 43 P age

44 the food? 7. Shortcomings/problems faced in implementation of this scheme. 8. Suggestions for more effective and better implementation of this scheme in detail. Thank you for your valuable time and responses! 44 P age

45 Schedule-B District Level Schedule Questionnaire for District Education Officer/DPO 1. Name of District 2. Total no. of children availing MDM in the district Primary Classes (Number) 2a. 1-V Enrolled Covered under MDM 2b. VI-VIII 3. Reasons for not covering all schools under this scheme, if any(if the figure differ in col.2a) (please use separate sheet if needed) 4. Reason for all the children not availing MDM(If the figure differ in col.2b) 5. Funds allotted/expenditure for the district under MDM Scheme of Elementary Education:- Year Requision of Fund Allotted Expenditure Timely receipt of Remarks Funds funds Yes/No 45 P age

46 6. Alternative arrangement incase the funds not received in time. 7. Reason for variation in case of difference Dropout in between Apr.2013 & Mar.2014 Boys Girls 8. Was any food poisoning case found in MDM Yes/No Scheme in any school? i) ifyes,what steps has been taken by you as precautionary measures. 09. Type of fuel used for cooking food. (Wood/Gas/Coal/K.Oil/Dungcake) 10. Loss of teaching time of the Staff. Hours. 11. Loss of study time of student in Hours implementation of scheme. 12. Impact of the MDM scheme a)improvement in enrolment. Yes/No b) Regular attendance increased in school Yes/No c) Preventing Children in buying food from hawkers. Yes/No d) Affecting the socialization and manners Yes/No e) Fall in dropout rate Yes/No 46 P age

47 13. Any shortcomings found in implementation of this Scheme? Yes/No If yes, please explain. 14. Give your suggestions about the improvement in implementation of this scheme Thank You for your valuable time and suggestions. 47 P age

48 Schedule-C School Level Schedule Questionnaire For Head of School 1. District a) Town/Village b) Rural/Urban c) Block 2. Name of School a) Type of School (Govt.Primary School/Govt.Middle/High School) b) Type of School (Boys/Girls/Co-education) c) Shift (Morning/Evening)l. 3. When MDM scheme was started in the school? 4. Kind of MDM being served? Ready-made/ Cooked i) If ready-made, name of the NGO/Supplier ii) If cooked type of fuel used(wood/gas/dungcaks/others) 5. Weekly MENU of Mid-day Meal Prepared or Ready-made received. Mon.Tues.Wed.Thu.Fri.Sat. 6. Total Students in the school. Total B- Boys G- Girls 7. a) Staff engaged in MDM Scheme Cook 48 P age

49 Helper (b)no.of dayscookremainedabsent during lastmonth (c)no. of days helper remainedabsent duringlastmonth 8. a)fundreceivedduring b)totalexpendituremade 9. Facililities of Infrastructuresuch as i) Kitchen Yes/No ii) Store room Yes/No iii) Dinning Hall Yes/No iv) Utensilsavailablearesufficient. Yes/No v) Safetyof Ration Yes/No vi) Availabilityof Drinking Waterfacility. Yes/No vii) Availability oftowels&soaps forcleaninghands. Yes/No 10. Whether cash book is maintained Yes/No if not maintained, reasons thereof? 11. Whether Stock Register is maintained. Yes/No if not maintained, reasons thereof? 12. Whether emergency stock is available Yes/No in case of non receipt of food items in time? 13. a) Number of break days, if any, in distributions of MDM during the last year b Breakup if any, is due to i) Shortage of ration supply /fuel/ absence of engaged staff/others 14. School manpower used for the operation of the scheme. 49 P age

50 Type of person No. of persons No. of hours per Remarks per day person per day Teaching staff Non -teaching staff Students Others 15. Receipt of Food Items. During school time/ After School time If after the school time who receives the raw material? 16. a) Quality of Food Items received Satisfactory/Un-satisfactory b) Quality of Masala received Satisfactory/Un-satisfactory (Branded/not Branded) 17. Quality of Food Items received in Gross Weight/Net Weight 18. Whether the food is being tasted by any Yes/No officer or teacher before supply to children? If yes, ask who tastes and if record is maintained? 19. Whether quantity of food served to the student is same for: Class I to class V &. Class VI to VIII. If no, explain the difference Yes/No 50 P age

51 20. Whether P.T.A or any other agency Yes/No i.e. NGO,VEC,Mahila Mandal, Panchayat,SHG s etc. are monitoring and helping to serve the food and drinking water from time to time? 21. How many days the food has been served. a) During last year Impact of MDM Scheme: a) Improvement in enrollment. Yes/No b) Regular attendance increased in school Yes/No c) Nutrition and health of children Yes/No d)preventing children in buying Yes/No food from hawkers. e) Affecting the socialization and manners Yes/No 23. Do you feel any shortcomings in proper Yes/No implementation of this Scheme? If yes, give suggestions. Thank You for your valuable time and responses. 51 P age

52 Schedule-D School observation sheet Observation of Surveyor 1.Cleanliness of Kitchen Area V.good/Good/Bad/worse 2. Cleanliness of Dinning Hall V.good/Good/Bad/worse 3. Store Room condition V.good/Good/Bad/worse 4. Food Items Storage Organised/Un-organised 5. Condition of Cooking Utensil(Patila) V.good/Good/Bad/ worse 6. Condition of Untensil used by students. V.Good/Good/Bad/ worse 7 Cleanliness of Untensil. V.Good/Good/Bad/worse 8. Personal Hygiene of cook V. Good/ Good/Bad/ worse 9. Inspection of Food check Register 1. Format 2. Remarks given by Checking Officer 52 P age

53 Group for FGD: Schedule-E FGD guidelines & pointers Members: MDM in charge (teacher and HM), SMC members, Rasoiya and Children. (Maximum 10 to 12 persons) Objective of FGD: With the objectives of improving health and education of the poor children, India has embarked upon an ambitious scheme of providing mid day meals (MDM) in the government andgovernment-assisted schools. We also test whether or not the meals offered through MDM scheme provide sufficient nutrition, food safety, and convenience and variety to the targeted children.. To portray the ground realities of MDM scheme implementation in targeted districts. To understand the status of Supply Chain Mechanism in MDM delivery. To identify critical bottlenecks in MDM implementation in plan s intervention districts in Bihar. FGDs Guidelines: Welcome, Introduction and Ground rules: Specify the objective of these FGDs. o Why we are conducting the focus group discussion. To find out specific key areas. o Need your input and want you to share your honest and open thought. o We want you to do the talking. We would like everyone to participate. o There is nothing right or wrong answer, every person is important & their opinion is valuable. o Speak up whether you agree or disagree. o No side talking. 53 Page

54 Ice Breaker: Start the FGDs with the ice breaker. Ask to participants his/her experience about school? From their point of view which things are good and which things need to improve in school. Points: For the successful and smooth operation of CMDM in the school, how you see your role? What type of food usually available to the children s in the MDM? What materials are generally available from the Department for the CMDM? And through which processes it reaches to the school? To this process, who does coordinate for the school? What changes in the system can improve the quality and supply of MDM? If at the time of MDM, materials known ever less or got finished, then who arranges that? Except the grains, who does all arrangements of the others materials like vegetables, milk? Is there any scope of thinking for centralized kitchen system to achieve the high quality and hygiene in the process of servicing MDM to children? Utensils which are currently in use for cooking, How long will it actually ware? For the purpose of cleaning and cooking what is arrangement of water? When you lift the grains from supply centres, how grains were kept there in storage? Are the principal daily tests the cooked meal before serving cooked meal to target children Or this process happens sometimes? Any efforts by the school or SMC to know the choice/like/dislike or satisfaction level of the children related to the food served to them? Feed back of the children upon quality & quantity of food. How do children wash their hands before eating? Is there any hand washing arrangement available in school? 54 P age

55 55 P age