Telangana HC to state govt: Why won’t teachers have midday meals along with students?
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin observed that govt circulars and guidelines have not translated into concrete action on the ground.
Telangana High Court has questioned the state government as to why a teacher should not eat mid-day meal with students in government schools.
The court stated that if teachers do so, students will have a chance to get clean, quality and safe meals.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin observed that circulars and guidelines have not translated into concrete action on the ground.
The bench has asked the government to state what steps are being taken to provide quality food to students in government schools, gurukula schools and residential schools as per prescribed standards.
The next hearing will be held on September 19. The court asked the government to submit details of the menu being served to students.
Plea filed for non-provision of facilities to students:
K. Akhil Sriguru Teja has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the non-provision of facilities to students in schools as per the guidelines of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Arguments by both sides in the HC:
The advocate for the petitioner, C Prabhakar argued that government guidelines are not being implemented in schools. "111 girls fell ill due to contaminated food in a school,” he explained.
Additional Advocate General Mohammad Imran Khan, while arguing on behalf of the government, said that authorities have taken steps to provide quality meals to students.
"Unfortunately, some undesirable incidents have taken place. 111 girls fell ill at one place due to excessive spicy food. The government has removed the cook responsible for this. A committee with a government representative has been formed to monitor the midday meal scheme,” he said.
The bench intervened and suggested that systemic changes were necessary to prevent negligence. "It would be better if one of the teachers had lunch with the students every day,” the Chief Justice said.
"Students can be involved in cooking. This was the case in the past. Students should learn the dignity of labour and this should be embraced in schools. This increases the respect among the students for the workers. This is my personal opinion,” the Chief Justice said.
Responding to this, the AAG said that times have changed and doing so would lead to criticism that children are being used as child laborers.