People's Democracy

Mid-Day Meals In 64,000 Bengal Schools

B  Prasant

BY March this year, no less than 64,000 Bengal primary schools would have mid-day meal schedules for students.  Announcing this at the concluding function of the Vidyasagar mela in Kolkata on January 3, state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also pointed out the fact that yet 10 lakh children of Bengal remained outside of institutional education.

By 2010, announced Buddhadeb, it would be quite possible to make all children of school-going age attend schools.  The chief minister noted that poverty was preventing the guardians of these children from getting their wards admitted in schools.  Mid-day meals, provided at the school premises, would be of great help in this case.

Buddhadeb noted that the figure of children not attending schools had stood at 19 lakh even three years back.  While the figure has come down, there remained the fact that 8-10 per cent of school going children tend to drop out at the primary level itself.  The mid-day scheme has enthused a large number of young children to attend school and look to their studies.

In Burdwan, Buddhadeb recalled, the people of the villages where the schools were located, would come forward with rice and vegetables to organise the mid-day meal sessions in schools. This is a very encouraging sign reflecting the involvement of the people.

Buddhadeb went on to say that despite the continuous enhancement of consciousness among the people of Bengal, some worrying features continued to persist.  Marriages of minors have not disappeared totally from society.  This has given rise to more deaths during childbirth than would occur normally, lamented the chief minister.  The evil institution of dowry, too, persists even among social groups who are comparatively well off. 

Against these social evils, declared Buddhadeb, struggles and movements must be organised where political parties as well as mass organisations must play a meaningful role as organisers.  He also pointed to the success of the women’s self-help groups in the state.  Of the two lakh self-help groups operative, more than one lakh could negotiate bank loans successfully. 

Apart from providing women with economic self-dependence, the groups helped enhance and strengthen further their social and political consciousness, added Buddhadeb who appealed to the Bangiya Saksharata Prasar Samity (BSPS), the organiser the Vidyasagar mela to ensure that all members of the self-help groups became literate.  In the struggle against capitalism and consumerist culture, the women can be a great and strong force.

The BSPS’s working president and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Biman Basu said that plans were already drawn up for implementation towards taking the literacy campaign to the women members of the self-help groups. The BSPS and the state resource centre shall work jointly in organising this task.  Survey work has reinforced the fact that making women literate ensures that the next generation would not remain illiterate.