Patna, July 27: Lakhs of children in almost 70,000 primary schools in the state will have to go without midday meals at least till Tuesday.

A meeting between the education department and office-bearers of the Bihar Rajya Prathamik Sikshak Sangh, the union of primary school teachers, who have been boycotting their duty in the midday meal programme since July 25, ended today without any solution.

Brajnandan Sharma, the union president, said they would be out with a final verdict by Monday evening. “The teachers will not do any work regarding the midday meal scheme. The association will hold an internal meeting around 12noon on Monday and then meet the state government again,” Sharma told The Telegraph.

The government officials accepted that they could not do much other than requesting the teachers. “One has to understand that the midday meal scheme is a central government project. If at all there has to be any alternative, it cannot happen overnight. It also involves an increase in the financial budget. The teachers need to understand the same as the midday meal scheme is going on in different states and the teachers do play an active part in it apart from teaching. Right now, we do not have any alternatives to deal with the situation,” said R. Laxmanan, the state midday meal director, adding that only 10 per cent of primary schools were being affected by the boycott call.

However, the teachers rubbished Laxmanan’s claims. “They are trying to save their faces,” Sharma countered.

With the deadlock continuing, the Saran district administration has decided to shift Gandaman Primary School students to a middle school in the same village.

“Though an exact date cannot be stated, we are trying to begin classes next week. The primary school students will be shifted to Gandaman Middle School, barely 300 metres away. If there is a problem, the classes will be conducted in two shifts,” Saran district magistrate Abhijeet Sinha said today.

Sources said the Gandaman Middle School has four rooms for around 200 students, four teachers and two cooks.

Education department principal secretary Amarjeet Sinha today visited the Dharmasati-Gandaman village and talked to the victims’ family members. He ordered that the police force, at present stationed at the middle school, be removed immediately and classes be started.