Worker unions have demanded an increase in the honorarium of 25 lakh cook-cum-helpers associated with the school meal programme at a time the Centre has initiated the process of restructuring the scheme.
Several activists have also sought a ban on the centralised kitchens from where cooked food is sent to schools.
The department of school education and literacy under the education ministry has informed the state governments that the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) scheme, earlier known as the Midday Meal Scheme, will be restructured
soon.
“At this juncture, suggestions and inputs from States and UTs for improvements and modifications in the Scheme would be very useful for preparation of a comprehensive self-explanatory Note for the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for continuation of the Scheme,” a letter sent by Anandrao V. Patil, additional secretary in the education ministry, said.
Under the PM-POSHAN scheme, nearly 11 crore children in 10.35 lakh government and aided primary and upper primary schools (Classes I-VIII) are given one hot-cooked meal on every school day. Nearly 25 lakh cook-cum-helpers are engaged in the preparation of food and in cleaning and maintaining the school kitchens in
rural areas.
For schools in urban areas, NGOs such as Akshaya Patra cook food in centralised kitchens.
The cook-cum-helpers are paid ₹1,000 a month as honorarium for 10 months a year, even though they work for about five hours a day.
The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (Citu) have demanded employee status for workers under the government schemes, including PM- POSHAN, and payment on a par with the minimum wage.
“The stand of the BMS is very clear. Persons engaged in government schemes like PM-POSHAN, Anganwadi, ASHA and similar programmes should be granted the status of employees and paid minimum wage, not honorarium. Once when they are paid minimum wage and recognised as employees will they be entitled to health and social security benefits under labour laws,” said Pawan Kumar, BMS secretary
(north zone).
Citu general secretary A.R. Sindhu said the honorarium of ₹1,000 had remained unchanged since 2009.
“The honorarium is unimaginably low. In 2013, the central government made an assurance at the Indian Labour Conference that the remuneration of workers would be increased. However, nothing has been done. The least the government is required to do is to pay them at the rate of minimum wage,”
Sindhu said.
She said the government should consider providing breakfast besides meals.
Ashok Rao, a social activist associated with the NGO Swami Sivananda
Memorial Institute, said the government must stop allowing NGOs to supply food to schools from decentralised kitchens.
“The main concern is safety in case of decentralised kitchens that are located 50-60km from the schools. Depending on the time of preparation, the food becomes stale by the time it reaches schools. Food should be cooked in schools,” Rao said.
He said the ingredients should be procured locally instead of depending on wheat and rice all the time.
“In some areas, people eat millets as a staple food. In such areas, millet grains should be procured locally and cooked. In areas where fish is consumed daily, it should be on the menu every day. There should be a law on ensuring a standard and accountability in the running of the scheme,” Rao said.