Bengaluru: Kitchen gardens in backyard, govt schools get a boost
Schools advised to use kitchen garden vegetables in mid-day meals.
Bengaluru: The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has decided to promote kitchen gardens in all government-run primary, high schools and aided schools across the State.
Sources in education department told this paper that the main objective of this programme is to help students get nutritious food to improve their performance in studies.
Students have been advised to grow varieties of vegetables, in every school, as per availability of land in their school premises. Teachers have been told to make use of these vegetables grown for the mid-day meals that is served to their wards.
There are about 78,000 government run, aided and private primary and secondary schools across the State. Out of this, 46,000 of them are government run-schools. The government is encouraging kitchen gardens in schools which have land, water and space besides other facilities by involving students in its running.
Students can also grow veggies in small containers, cans and discarded earthen pots if there is a space constraint in their respective schools, mostly in urban-centric areas, the official said. Following guidelines from Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), the DPI had already issued directions to DDPIs and Headmasters of the schools to set up such nutritious gardens in their limits.
Both Union and State had allocated Rs 5,000 to each school to run a kitchen garden that will also encourage students to take up gardening work. The cost will be shared by the Centre and States. DPI had entrusted the responsibility of overseeing the kitchen garden preparations to the Joint Director of Mid Day Meals and it has also been communicated to all Deputy Director of Public Instructions in 34 education districts.
DDPIs have been directed also to train teachers to help students establish such gardens and learn about basic garden management by taking the help of local urban local bodies, agriculturists, horticulturists and Krishi Vignan Kendra experts.
Teachers have also been instructed to permit students to spend an hour for gardening every week to familiarize students to it, the officials said.