The centre has asked the state governments of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh to take immediate necessary steps to rectify the problem regarding the low midday meal coverage in the two states last year and submit reports of action taken by September.The issue was raised during meetings between the project approval board (PAB) of the PM Poshan (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) programme. According to meeting minutes, the board stated that the midday meal coverage statistics supplied by Madhya Pradesh for 2022-23 appear “manipulated,” it also stated that the level of coverage in Bihar remained “very low” for the last year.In Madhya Pradesh, the PAB found that the Government covered 68.78% of registered students in the primary division and 68.86% of registered students in the upper primary division in 2022-23. According to the minutes, at least 22 districts at the primary level and 21 districts at the upper primary level had the same amount of coverage, i.e. 65%. Sanjay Kumar, secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Union Ministry of Education, expressed concern over numerous districts reporting the same coverage, saying it “looks fake and unrealistic.” The PAB directed the state to take certain measures to enhance coverage and demanded a report on actions completed by September.In Bihar, PAB found that coverage of students at the elementary and upper primary levels was “extremely low,” at 57% and 58%, respectively. The secretary found that student coverage was lower than the state average in at least seven Bihar districts, including Patna (55%), Vaishali (46%), Siwan (49%), Nalanda (43%), Darbhanga (29%), and Kishanganj (25%).The secretary stated that “a report on action-taken may be submitted by September 2023” and ordered the states to “put in place a proper system to cover more number of students in future.” In response to the news, a senior officer in Bihars education department stated that everyday attendance in government schools has never been unusually low. “Traditionally, average attendance in government schools has ranged between 55% and 60%.” “We get allotments based on the average attendance from the Centre,” said the officer.
