54,201 mid-day meal staffers in Telangana schools to get pay rise from July

Hyderabad: State education minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy on Saturday announced that midday meal scheme workers in Telangana will receive increased wages with effect from July. The decision will benefit 54,201 cook-cum-helpers currently working in schools across the state.

According to Sabita Indra Reddy, the implementation of this decision will impose an additional burden of Rs 108.40 crores per year on the state.

Mid-day meals

During a meeting with district education officers at the Telangana Rural Development Organisation in Rajendranagar, the minister directed officials to ensure the timely release of funds for the mid-day meal scheme.

The minister said, “Ensure the meals meet the highest standards of quality and nutrition. Additionally, enhance supervision to guarantee that the program is effectively implemented in schools across the state.”

To address the learning crisis affecting primary-level education, the minister highlighted the introduction of the First Step program, whose aim is to enhance students’ language and mathematics skills.

The minister disclosed plans to conduct an annual state-level achievement survey, which will assess students’ minimum abilities at the school level. Based on the survey results, appropriate actions will be taken to address any shortcomings.

Priority to school uniforms

Looking ahead, the minister instructed officials to take proactive measures from the beginning of the academic year to achieve optimal results in Class 10. The emphasis was placed on avoiding last-minute preparations before exams.

Officials were directed to expedite the completion of the ongoing ‘Mana Uru- Mana Badi’ program. Projects costing more than Rs one crore were specifically instructed to be handed over to the School Management Committees (SMC) for prompt completion.

Expressing concerns over the delayed distribution of school uniforms, minister Sabitha issued a stern warning, saying, “If the uniforms are not provided within the next week, appropriate action will be taken against those responsible.”

Additionally, the minister urged officials to prioritise increasing the enrolment percentage of students in primary schools.

Background

Three days over 54,000 mid-day meal (MDM) workers went on a strike seeking fulfillment of their demands immediately. this has affected mid-day meal supply to lakhs of school students in Telangana.

The education department made alternate arrangements to ensure food supply to the students is not affected and hoped that the strike would end in a day or two. MDM workers have been demanding the state government to clear the pending bills and also implement the hike in remuneration immediately, among other demands.

The state government in February this year issued an order increasing the honorarium amount to Rs 3,000 from the existing Rs 1,000. However, the MDL workers allege that they are yet to get the enhanced payment.

"There are 23 lakh students studying in government, zilla parishad and aided schools and out of which about 75-80 per cent consume mid-day meals in schools. The DEOs have been asked to make alternate arrangements to see that the students are fed. Arrangements could not be made at some places due to local reasons," the official said.

He said there are 27,000 schools in the state which serve Mid-Day Meal. AITUC Telangana Secretary T Sammaiah said the workers union called for "Chalo Hyderabad" tomorrow as part of the protest. "We are going to submit a memorandum to the state government and the future course of action will depend on the government reaction," Sammaiah said.

Inputs from PTI