Mizoram: Funds crunch may hit mid-day meal scheme

Two associations of school teachers in Mizoram have expressed apprehension that students will cease to receive mid-day meals soon due to the alleged failure of the government to provide sufficient funds.
    
The Mizoram Primary School Teachers' Association (MPSTA) and the Mizoram Middle School Teachers' Association (MMSTA) recently sent a joint letter to the school education department stating that they will stop providing midday meals from October 18 since it will not be possible for them to pay the cooks and for cooking costs.
    
They said that cooks had not been paid for their remuneration for four months.
    
School Education Department Director Lalsangliana said his office is in touch with the teacher associations to resolve the issue.

Also Read: Mizoram: 49 candidates in fray for Sinlung Hills Council polls
    
The government has been facing difficulties in disbursing the funds as the Centre is yet to release the first instalment of midday meals fund under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) programme for the current academic session, the officer said.
    
The associations said they had discussed the matter with Education Minister Dr Vanlalthlana on September 17 and also met the education department director on the issue, but the matter was not resolved.
    
The government has raised the honorarium of cooks from Rs 1,500 a month to Rs 3,000 from the 2024 academic session.
    
Sources said that the government disbursed their honorarium for the first two months - April and May - in early October, after the teachers’ associations threatened to discontinue the programme from October 1.
    
In the letter, the MPSTA and MMSTA urged the government to address their issue on or before October 18.