Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In a bid to ascertain that the expenditure incurred in the midday meal scheme for schools is accounted for, the state Department of School Education recently issued a direction that all the recorded students in schools should give attendance through the Shiksha Setu App only and districts should release food grains and cooking costs as per the attendance of students.
It was held that many students and class teachers don't give daily attendance in the app, even though the students are present. Due to this, there is a difference in the number of students present in schools getting Midday Meal under PM POSHAN, the department pointed out.
This has created problems in the disbursement of appropriate amounts of funds for food grains and cooking costs as per the attendance of students, the department stated in a letter to all District Elementary Education Officers (DEEOs).
The DEEOs were directed to ascertain that all the recorded students in schools give attendance through the Shiksha Setu App, and the districts should release food grains and cooking costs, taking into account the attendance of students. Moreover, it was further stated that while releasing these funds, the districts should deduct the savings of previous months due to absentee students and then release the funds accordingly.
The cooking cost of midday meals in Assam from October 2022 onwards is Rs 5.45 per child for primary schools and nearly Rs 8.17 for upper primary schools. During 2023-24, the PM Poshan scheme covered 44,340 schools in the state. The total number of students was 40,87,368 but an average of 36,23,212 (88.64%) students were covered by the midday meal scheme.
Also read: Assam Improves Midday Meal Menu For Schools, To Serve Nutritious Food
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