The Mid-Day Meal Scheme: A Safety Net for Children

School feeding programmes are a social safety net as well as an educational intervention to bring children into school so that they are able to learn. The underlying principle is that if hunger in the school setting is eliminated, children will be able to learn. The mid-day meal scheme, also known as the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) has a long history but was implemented in its present form upon the directives of the Supreme Court in 2001. This Centrally sponsored scheme is the largest in the world, reaching out daily to 10.33 crore children studying in 11.67 lakh government, government aided schools, those run by local bodies, children studying in Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE) centres including madrasas/ maqtabs under Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan, employing about 25 lakhs helpers. This scheme has been evaluated many times vis-à-vis its objectives of enrolment, attendance and retention. Enrolment and attendance have improved in all states. There are few studies on nutritional status and despite its noble objectives there are some gaps that are being addressed by the Government.