Nagaland Department of School Education has claimed that during 2018-19, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme has covered 1,63,701 children from 2059 government schools and 44 National Child Labour Project (NCLP) schools as per the provision of the entitlement of students from classes I to VIII.
This was stated in the department’s Annual Administrative Report of 2018-19 which was tabled in the State Assembly on Friday by chief minister Neiphiu Rio, according to reports.
The Government of India introduced Mid Day Meal Programme on 15 August 1995 in the whole country as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
Later in the year 2001, the Supreme Court had ordered all the state governments and union territories to implement Mid-Day Meal Scheme and provide cooked meals to school children from government and government-aided schools.
The scheme was aimed to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance while simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children in schools.
The scheme also aims to improve the nutritional status of the children in government and government aided schools; improving the nutritional status of children in classes I to VIII; encouraging children belonging to disadvantaged sections to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.