The students of Champamaya Primary
School in the outskirts of Kalimpong town have reportedly not been
provided with the mid-day meal for the last one year. The scheme is part
of the central government’s initiative to promote primary school
education in the country, but the students of the school have been
denied the benefit. The news came to light today after the two cooks
employed under the scheme complained about them being left without any
source of income.
The two women, Ganga Chettri and Harka
Maya Chettri have been working as cooks under the mid-day meal scheme
since 2004, but once it was abruptly stopped last year they have been
without any source of income. Later, when the meager Rs1,000 grant was
also stopped, the two women approached Kalimpong Farmers’ Welfare Union
on the issue. The union after hearing their grievances forwarded a
letter to the National Commission of Child Rights Protection, New Delhi,
state government and the school administration.
Following the letter, Champamaya PS
headmaster Bhim Basnett today convened a meeting with the villagers and
tried to explain the situation. However, the villagers visibly
unsatisfied with the explanation have demanded the state government to
immediately transfer the headmaster and the four teachers of the school
and also conduct an investigation into the alleged scam. The villagers
have demanded the mid-day meal to be restarted at the earliest. They
also discarded a proposal by the headmaster to form a committee
comprising of villagers and school authority to look into the issue,
saying unless the investigation into the irregularities in mid-day meal
is conducted they will not support the move.
Meanwhile, KFWU general secretary Bishnu
Chettri said the villagers have been putting pressure on the school
administration about the irregularities in the scheme since it was
stopped, but they were not able to reach a common consensus. Claiming
there has been rampant corruption in the mid-day meal scheme in the
school, Chettri also demanded immediate transfer of the headmaster and
the teachers.
The irregularity in the providing
mid-day meal to the students of Champamaya Primary School was also
confirmed by Mothers Teachers Association president, Sony Rai. She said
her organisation too had intervened in the issue earlier, but had not
reached any conclusion.(EOIC)