Inter colleges stop midday meals in Andhra Pradesh
The current academic year began on June 3 and students were served midday meal since then.
Vijayawada: A sizeable number of state-run junior colleges have stopped providing midday meals to their students following a statement by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
When the topic of midday meal scheme came up during a review conducted by the department of education two days ago, the Chief Minister said the scheme was not necessary for Intermediate students.
Officials present, perhaps gauging the Chief Minister’s mood, passed on oral instructions to the education department to stop the scheme. No formal orders were passed. About two lakh students studying in Intermediate in 471 state-run junior colleges get free lunch at their colleges.
Nearly 18,000 students in the Chief Minister’s home district, Kadapa, were forced to skip lunch. In some districts, the meals were served as the officials didn’t receive any official circular.
According to well-placed sources, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government may issue formal orders scrapping the midday meal scheme for Intermediate students to offset the expenditure incurred due to extending the Amma Vodi scheme for these students.
There are nearly 10 lakh Intermediate students across the state. Of these, about two lakh students study in government junior colleges, who will be affected by this decision.
The TD government had extended the midday meal scheme to state-run junior college students from August 2018 as the students from rural areas were not able to get their lunch from home when they left early in the morning.
The current academic year began on June 3 and students were served midday meal since then.