Introduction
As 21st century Indians, we have more than enough reason to be proud of the strides our country has achieved over the past few decades, in technology and science, medicine, agriculture, finance and the arts, to name a few. However, it is important to remind ourselves that we do not rate high on the Human Development Index of the 2014 Human Development Report (HDR); India is ranked 135 among 187 countries. This is mostly due to the miserable condition of our education, health and living standards. India’s booming population makes it difficult for children from poor and marginalized communities to afford and/or access basic education and healthcare. This later has far-reaching consequences for the country.
The Mid Day Meal Scheme …show more content…
All these levels include its stakeholders. In this section, I have highlighted various elements of the programme’s design while looking at stakeholder participation too.
As Joyita (2013) reports, although the cost of the MDMS is shared between the central and state governments, the central government bears most of it. This includes the costs of cooking, infrastructure, transportation, payments, etc. The financial inputs on the part of the state governments differ from state to state. The Central government supplies grain free of cost to the states, while the cost of transport of grain is subsidized.
Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development makes sure that the implementation of the scheme is carried out. This mechanism works at various levels. Local level monitoring is carried out by representatives of Gram Panchayats and oversee cleanliness, regularity, timeliness and implementation of the programme that is to be done with social and gender equity on a daily basis. State Government officers inspect the schools. To make the MDMS transparent and accountable, schools ought to display relevant information under the Right to Information Act. Further, it is the responsibility of the Food Corporation of India to ensure that there is adequate and good quality food grains in continuous supply to the schools where the MDMS is being
As 21st century Indians, we have more than enough reason to be proud of the strides our country has achieved over the past few decades, in technology and science, medicine, agriculture, finance and the arts, to name a few. However, it is important to remind ourselves that we do not rate high on the Human Development Index of the 2014 Human Development Report (HDR); India is ranked 135 among 187 countries. This is mostly due to the miserable condition of our education, health and living standards. India’s booming population makes it difficult for children from poor and marginalized communities to afford and/or access basic education and healthcare. This later has far-reaching consequences for the country.
The Mid Day Meal Scheme …show more content…
All these levels include its stakeholders. In this section, I have highlighted various elements of the programme’s design while looking at stakeholder participation too.
As Joyita (2013) reports, although the cost of the MDMS is shared between the central and state governments, the central government bears most of it. This includes the costs of cooking, infrastructure, transportation, payments, etc. The financial inputs on the part of the state governments differ from state to state. The Central government supplies grain free of cost to the states, while the cost of transport of grain is subsidized.
Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development makes sure that the implementation of the scheme is carried out. This mechanism works at various levels. Local level monitoring is carried out by representatives of Gram Panchayats and oversee cleanliness, regularity, timeliness and implementation of the programme that is to be done with social and gender equity on a daily basis. State Government officers inspect the schools. To make the MDMS transparent and accountable, schools ought to display relevant information under the Right to Information Act. Further, it is the responsibility of the Food Corporation of India to ensure that there is adequate and good quality food grains in continuous supply to the schools where the MDMS is being