IMPLEMENTATION OF MDM SCHEME IN THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU

District Month of visit to the Districts No of Schools visited in each district Total Schools Visited Primary Schools Upper Primary Schools Total MADURAI (Part of Rapid Assessment) 19 th August 2013 to 8 th September THENI 02 nd January 2014 to 27 th January DINDIGUL 13 th November 2013 to 03 rd December Total

MDM – Enrolled Vs Availed DistrictTotal Enrollment Attendance on the day of visit Number availed MDM on the day of visit Madurai (96%)*4593 (88%)** Theni (99%)*4481 (99%)** Dindigul (99%)*3547 (94%)** (98%)12621 (93%) Values in brackets indicate: * Percentage of students present on the day of visit against the total enrollment in school ** Percentage of students availed MDM against the students present in the school on the day of visit

 In some of the schools, children were made to sit orderly in the school verandah and served. In several schools, children stand in the queue with their bowls/plates to receive the food from the cook and helper. After taking the food children themselves sit in a row and have their food  There was no caste or community discrimination prominently seen inside the school premises with regard to cooking or serving or seating arrangements.

 Condition of the Kitchen  Working condition is not healthy for the kitchen staff and there is no proper ventilation  Shifting to gas based cooking will improve the situation  Storage of Food grains  In 92% schools the food grains are stored in the store room. In the remaining schools it is stored in the class rooms.  Display of MDM Logo  Madurai: The MDM logo was not displayed in any of the schools in Madurai district during MI’s visit  Theni: In Theni district, in few schools the logo was printed on a A4 size paper and stuck on the walls  Dindigul: In Dindigul, the MDM logo was found in 15 schools, however it was not painted but printed and pasted on walls.

 The number of cooks and helpers are inadequate to meet the requirements in some of the schools due to vacancies.  The Organisers, Cooks and Helpers in most of the schools belong to BC or MBC community.

 The buffer stock of 45 days requirement is maintained in 64 schools and 30 days requirement in the remaining 56 schools.  In Theni district, it was observed by the MI that the quantity indicated and actual weight was not similar in many schools. Only 11 schools out of 40 schools, the weight was correct. There is an approximate mismatch of 5-7 kg in the food grains supplied vs. weight marked on the food grains bags.

 Variety of Menu  The daily menu includes rice, dal, eggs and vegetables.  There is no wheat preparation  Quality of Food  The quality of food found to be satisfactory. In a few schools, MI observed during the visit that the rice was over cooked and did not taste good.  Quantity of Food  The students were generally satisfied with the quantity of food provided in almost all the schools

 Hand wash  No prompts from the teachers/organizer were noticed during the field visit  In 75% of the schools, students wash their hands before and after meal and in the remaining 25% schools the children wash their hands only after the meal.  There is a good practice in PUMS Solaipatti School, the helper helps the small children to wash their hands with soap [Madurai district]

 Adequacy of Utensils  106 schools (88%) have reported that the utensils used for cooking are inadequate  Availability of Water  97 Schools (81%) have access to Panchayat or Municipality water. The remaining schools have their own hand pump or bore well inside the school campus  In a few schools, sponsors have provided RO plants and water purifiers.

 Community Participation  There is lack of community participation to contribute towards the betterment for the implementation of MDM scheme  Periodic Health checkups  The Health Check Up happens once in a year in 88 schools and twice a year in 32 schools.  The health card is maintained only in 50 schools and the remaining 70 schools do not maintain the health card properly  Audit and Inspection  The MI did not find any record of state level audit or inspection carried out to monitor the MDM implementation

 Ensuring consistent supply of good quality grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits  Impressing upon the local community the importance of MDM as an effective tool to counter caste, class and gender based discrimination  Fostering larger community involvement in order to realize the above