File picture of schoolchildren being served midday meal

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 3: The school and mass education department will seek to sensitise students and teachers about the midday meal scheme through an awareness mela during a three-day children’s festival, Suravi, starting December 5.

The state has been drawing a lot of flak from several quarters for irregularities and accidents related to the scheme. “There have been a lot of apprehensions about midday meal that it won’t be a successful programme in the state. So, our idea is to bring a few schools from all districts to the first-of-its-kind mela and make them realise that the midday meal is also part of the primary education process,” said secretary of the organising department Usha Padhee.

The mela will be held on the opening day of the festival at the Unit-IX Boys’ High School here. It will feature various competitions such as essay and slogan writing, song, dance and skit centred on themes such as elimination of classroom hunger, nutritional requirement, importance of hand washing, community participation and so on.

“Student groups that have done well in such competitions at the district level have been invited to the state-level event. We are expecting about 400 to 500 children along with their teachers and mentors to take part in the mela,” said Padhee.

The next two days will have activities that are usually held during Suravi. Nearly 800 children, especially those from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, in all the 30 districts are expected to take part in the fest.

“Every year, the festival starts from November 12 with the third and final day coinciding with Children’s Day. However, this time round, we had to postpone it in view of cyclone Phailin and incessant rains leading to a flood situation,” said an official of the department.

There are also plans to show educational movies in Hindi and Odia to the students and take them on a sightseeing tour across the city.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will address the valedictory event on December 7. School and mass education minister Rabi Narayan Nanda will also attend the event, which is supported by youth volunteer group Bakul Foundation, disability rights campaigning organisation Swabhiman-Anjali, and other NGOs.