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States cooking up attendance data for meal scheme, says CAG

NEW DELHI: Describing the Mid-day Meal Programme as a “laudable” exercise, the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India has, however, questioned the government’s failure to analyse its impact on attendance.

In its performance audit of the world’s largest school meal programme, the CAG found that most of the States were not compiling data on attendance. Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tripura and Punjab were giving the Human Resource Development Ministry an estimated average attendance rate, without regularly compiling data at the State level.

Chhattisgarh had drawn up an average attendance rate without compiling data at the district level. Bihar, Kerala and Haryana were one step worse. They were furnishing attendance figures without compiling data at any level.

Likewise, the CAG has questioned the absence of data on the impact of the programme on the dropout rate.

Referring to the Centre’s decision to increase the nutritional inputs in the meal served to children, it said micro-nutrients and supplements were not administered in as many as 13 States/Union Territories.

They were only partially administered in the test-checked schools of eight States/Union Territories ranging from 10.8 per cent in Madhya Pradesh to 94 per cent in Rajasthan.

Neither has CAG accepted the HRD Ministry’s argument for not ensuring that its guidelines on administration of micro-nutrients are adhered to.

The Ministry contends that the Centre is not providing any assistance to the States/Union Territories for administration of micro-nutrients and supplements and it is only a recommendation. But, according to the CAG, having prescribed this important health measure in the guidelines, the Ministry’s crucial role in ensuring the required interventions by the States cannot be overlooked.

Advocating a tightening of the internal controls — both at the Central and State levels — the CAG called for better inspection and monitoring at all levels to achieve the goals.

The audit also expressed concern at the loss of teaching time of teachers. Though the Ministry’s guidelines state teachers should not be assigned responsibilities that interfere with teaching and learning activities, a test check revealed that they were being actively involved in receipt of foodgrains, procurement of vegetables and condiments, and supervision of cooking and serving of meals.

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