INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS

IMPLEMENTATION OF MDM SCHEME IN THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU

EVALUATION OF MDM SCHEME IN 3 DISTRICTS OF TAMIL NADU DURING THE PERIOD 1ST NOVEMBER 2013 TO 30TH APRIL 2014

District Month of visit to the Districts No of Schools visited in each district Total Schools

Visited

Primary Schools Upper Primary Schools Total

MADURAI(Part of Rapid Assessment)

19th August 2013 to 8th September 2013 15 25 40

THENI 02nd January 2014 to 27th January 2014 25 15 40

DINDIGUL 13th November 2013 to 03rd December 2013 24 16 40

Total 64 56 120

MDM SCHEME – ENROLLED VS AVAILED

MDM – Enrolled Vs Availed

District Total Enrollment Attendance on the day of visit

Number availed MDM on the day of visit

Madurai 5455 5234 (96%)* 4593 (88%)**

Theni 4563 4520 (99%)* 4481 (99%)**

Dindigul 3796 3772 (99%)* 3547 (94%)**

13814 13526 (98%) 12621 (93%)

Values in brackets indicate:

* Percentage of students present on the day of visit against the total enrollment in school

**Percentage of students availed MDM against the students present in the school on the day of visit

DISTRIBUTION OF MID DAY MEALS IN SCHOOLS

In some of the schools, children were made to sit orderly in the school verandah and served. In several schools, children stand in the queue with their bowls/plates to receive the food from the cook and helper. After taking the food children themselves sit in a row and have their food

There was no caste or community discrimination prominently seen inside the school premises with regard to cooking or serving or seating arrangements.

KITCHEN, STORAGE AND DISPLAY OF MDM LOGO

Condition of the Kitchen Working condition is not healthy for the kitchen staff and there is no proper

ventilation Shifting to gas based cooking will improve the situation

Storage of Food grains

In 92% schools the food grains are stored in the store room. In the remaining schools it is stored in the class rooms.

Display of MDM Logo

Madurai: The MDM logo was not displayed in any of the schools in Madurai district during MI’s visit

Theni: In Theni district, in few schools the logo was printed on a A4 size paper and stuck on the walls

Dindigul: In Dindigul, the MDM logo was found in 15 schools, however it was not painted but printed and pasted on walls.

KITCHEN, STORAGE AND DISPLAY OF LOGO

SOCIAL COMPOSITION IN THE APPOINTMENT OF COOK CUM HELPERS

The number of cooks and helpers are inadequate to meet the requirements in some of the schools due to vacancies.

The Organisers, Cooks and Helpers in most of the schools belong to BC or MBC community.

BUFFER STOCK

The buffer stock of 45 days requirement is maintained in 64 schools and 30 days requirement in the remaining 56 schools.

In Theni district, it was observed by the MI that the quantity indicated and actual weight was not similar in many schools. Only 11 schools out of 40 schools, the weight was correct. There is an approximate mismatch of 5-7 kg in the food grains supplied vs. weight marked on the food grains bags.

VARIETY OF MENU, QUANTITY AND QUALITY

Variety of Menu The daily menu includes rice, dal, eggs and vegetables. There is no wheat preparation

Quality of Food The quality of food found to be satisfactory. In a few schools, MI observed

during the visit that the rice was over cooked and did not taste good.

Quantity of Food The students were generally satisfied with the quantity of food provided in

almost all the schools

SANITATION AND HYGIENE

Hand wash No prompts from the teachers/organizer were noticed during the field

visit

In 75% of the schools, students wash their hands before and after meal and in the remaining 25% schools the children wash their hands only after the meal.

There is a good practice in PUMS Solaipatti School, the helper helps the small children to wash their hands with soap [Madurai district]

ADEQUATE WATER AND UTENSILS

Adequacy of Utensils 106 schools (88%) have reported that the utensils used for cooking are

inadequate

Availability of Water 97 Schools (81%) have access to Panchayat or Municipality water. The remaining

schools have their own hand pump or bore well inside the school campus In a few schools, sponsors have provided RO plants and water purifiers.

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Community Participation There is lack of community participation to contribute towards the

betterment for the implementation of MDM scheme

Periodic Health checkups The Health Check Up happens once in a year in 88 schools and twice a

year in 32 schools. The health card is maintained only in 50 schools and the remaining 70

schools do not maintain the health card properly

Audit and Inspection The MI did not find any record of state level audit or inspection carried out

to monitor the MDM implementation

CHALLENGES

Ensuring consistent supply of good quality grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits

Impressing upon the local community the importance of MDM as an effective tool to counter caste, class and gender based discrimination

Fostering larger community involvement in order to realize the above