The document outlines the efforts of the Citizens Association for Child Rights (CACR) to improve education and food quality in Mumbai's municipal schools. It details issues with the government's midday meal scheme, noting failures in food quality, adherence to regulations, and monitoring by school officials. CACR has attempted to address these challenges by organizing meetings with meal contractors and seeking assistance from catering institutions.

2. INTRODUCTION
• CACR -Citizens Association for Child
Rights is a section 8 non profit
organisation that has been primarily
focusing on improvement in
functioning and quality of education
in Municipal schools by involving
various stakeholders.

3. MUNICIPAL SCHOOLS IN MUMBAI
 Primary Schools = 1100+
 Secondary schools =140+
 MPS-Mumbai Public School*(1st
to 10th standard) =60 ; 84 new
MPS schools to be formed this
year (2015)
* Managed by BMC or other NGO’s
–Aseema, Akansha,etc.

4. Municipal Schools distribution
(class wise )
 Primary schools cover 1st to 7th Standard
 Secondary schools (very few) -8th to 10th
(run in collaboration with State Education
Department)
 MPS schools –1st to 10th standards
 RTE says “Free and Compulsory
education for children of 6 to 14 years ie
up to 8th standard. Hence there is a
dilemma

5. CACR CITIZENS and Volunteer
Network
VOLUNTEER NETWORK
K WEST
H WEST
H EAST
G SOUTH
F NORTH

6. Mid-day meal
© CITIZENS ASSOCIATION
FOR CHILD RIGHTS 6
To Attract
children to
school
Government has
a midday meal
scheme under
which nutritious,
hygienic ,and
wholesome food
is supposed to
be given to
students during
lunch break

7. RTE SAYS : OUR OBSERVATION :
 As per Government
regulation(GR)
 QUALITY
 QUANTITY
 NURITIONAL VALUE
Of the food needs to be
monitored and
recorded at the
school DAILY
 On a regular basis
none of these
parameters are being
followed or recorded
in every BMC school

8. RTE SAYS :
OUR OBSERVATION:
 GR has a fixed Menu
of food that has to be
given to each school
daily
 To improve nutritional
value weekly
biscuits, Rajgira
ladoos or chikki has
to be given once
 The Mid-day meal
contractors don’t
adhere to the GR and
supply the same
khichaddi on most
days and do not
provide any weekly
nutritional
supplements like
biscuits, chikki etc

9. RTE SAYS :
Observation
 BEFORE distribution
of the mid-day meal
the school head
master or building in
charge has to taste
the food and make
sure there is no
contamination by
foreign substance
worms, pins etc.
This has to be done
daily half an hour
before distribution
 Most of the time the
Head master or
incharge is NOT
present in the school
when mid-day meal
arrives. S/he is out
of the school for
meetings/trainings/o
ther work. The food
is not weighed for
quantity or checked
for quality putting
lives of kids at risk

10. RTE SAYS :
Our Observation
 EACH month food
samples need to be
sent to Dadar Food
Analysis lab for
testing the quality of
food by the head
master of EACH
Govt. school. Even
the nutritional value
of food has to be
checked
 RARELY head master
send these food
samples every
month. They do not
maintain records of
lab reports. The
Dadar food lab has
no provision to check
Nutritional value of
food samples.

11. RTE says Observation
 If a food sample is
contaminated with :
Worms, Pins, staples,
plastic, etc the head
master has to make a
WRITTEN REPORT and
Immediately send the
food sample to Dadar
lab for testing after
doing the necessary
formalities of
Panchanama etc
 When such food
samples are found the
Head master DOES
NOT make any written
reports, samples are
rarely sent to food lab.
The entire matter is
hushed up in the
school. At the most the
mid-day meal
contractor is fined
Rs.2500 (1st time) and
Rs.5000 (2nd time). But
they are NEVER
permanently Blacklisted

12. RTE SAYS Observation
 School management
committee members
should visit kitchens
of MDM contractors
 In MOST SCHOOLS
no SMCs are NOT
functional
 There are ONLY 4
FOOD INSPECTORS in
1100 schools to
monitor 250 self help
groups.

13. GLASS PIECES and Worms found
in Rice- as seen in few schools

14. BROWN Worms found in Khichadi

15. Contractors reinstated due to
political pressure- Report in DNA

16. CONTRACTORS are Not Blacklisted

17. How CACR tried to help :We initiated
mid-day meal contractors meeting &
kitchen visits

18. HOW CACR tried to help
 We approached Dadar Catering college to
help the Self-help groups improve their
food quality and hygiene. The Institute
has agreed to help free of charge

19. PLEASE STRENGTHEN OUR HANDS AND BE A PART OF
CITIZENS ASSOCIATION FOR CHILD RIGHTS.
THANK YOU
WEBSITE : www.ngocacr.com
YOU TUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCid_6o8_t8Vx7oZUFGi5BnA
FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/CitizensAssociationForChildRights
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ALL IMAGES AND CONTENT are A COPYRIGHT OF CACR
© CITIZENS ASSOCIATION FOR CHILD RIGHTS