Published Paper Details:

Mid-day-meal scheme has been initiated by the government but its effectiveness depends in many ways on the involvement of community at large. School meals needed to boost to the advancement of elementary education, child nutrition, and social right. However, these achievements depend a great deal on the quality aspects of mid-day meals and therefore these issues need urgent attention if midday meal programme are to realize their full potential. In view of above, it is imperative to assess the constraints faced in implementation of the scheme and suggest remedial measure to overcome such constraints. For this investigation, samples were gathered using the cluster random sampling approach. In the Auraiya district (Uttar Pradeh), schools from Bidhuna Tehsil and Ajeetmal Community Development Block were chosen at random. Lack of clarity of objetives, inappropriate scientific and precise assessment of the impact of the scheme, huge gap between nutritional knowledge and normal health among teachers, students and parents were some of the constraints faced towards implementation of Mid-day meal scheme. With adequate resources and quality safeguards, mid-day meals can play a major role in improving school attendance, eliminating classroom hunger and fostering social equity. Qualitative improvements are urgently required to fill the gaps in a time bound manner if mid-day meals are to achieve their full potential. The benefits are intangible but beyond the preview of any measurement scale.