Balasore: With the mid-day meal (MDM) being affected due to the ongoing agitation of primary school teachers, the education authorities have decided to engage Anganwadi workers to serve meals to the students in Odisha’s Balasore district.
Balasore’s district education officer (DEO) Pratibha Manjari Das has issued instructions that the Anganwadi workers can be entrusted the responsibility to run the MDM in those primary schools where Anganwadi centres are presently functioning.
In a letter to district social welfare officer, Das said, “Due to the ongoing strike by the elementary teachers of the state, the teaching and MDM programme of elementary schools have been affected.”
Pointing out that the Anganwadi centres are running from the premises of several primary schools under School and Mass Education department, she said, “The Anganwadi workers engaged in those centres may be instructed to ensure that the affected schools remain open during the working hours and the mid-day meal prepared by the cook-cum-helpers is served to the students attending the school.”
It may be noted that around 1.30 lakh primary and upper primary school teachers across the state have taken mass leave in protest against government’s failure to meet their demands for abolition of the contractual appointment system, hike in grade pay and restoration of the old pension scheme.
The teachers’ agitation has affected over 50,000 schools and more than 40 lakh students along with the mid-day meal programme.
On the other hand, the School and Mass Education (SME) department has warned the agitating teachers terming their strike as “gross misconduct”.
