Education dept fails to propagate Subhdin Bhojan

Ongole: Tithi Bhojan, a community participation initiative prevalent in Gujarat, adopted by the Union government in the midday meals programmeme in schools, has been neglected for almost a decade by the state government.

The Gujarat government introduced the Tithi Bhojan concept, as a supplement and complement to the midday meals programmeme in schools. The ministry of human resource development, Government of India, in orders issued in November 2014 and October 2018 advised all states and Union Territories to follow certain approved guidelines on Tithi Bhojan. The Centre mentioned that by then 11 states and UTs, including the Andhra Pradesh had adopted the concept similar to the Tithi Bhojan.

Tithi Bhojan is a concept to encourage community participation in the midday meals programmeme to provide nutritious and healthy food to the children as an additional food item or a full meal on special occasions in the family or festivals.

This is a completely voluntary programme, and the people who are interested in participating can contribute to the Tithi Bhojan concept. The government felt the need for Tithi Bhojan to improve the sense of belonging among the community.

On the occasion of fourth anniversary of National Education Policy 2020, the government observed Shiksha Saptah from July 22 to 28 this year. Culminating the programme, the government advised the schools to involve the community through the Tithi Bhojan on the last day. In Andhra Pradesh, the state government celebrated the last day with Shubhdin Bhojan, and many donors provided specially made food items, and meals to the children on Monday.

The PM Poshan (the midday meal) programme website of the Andhra Pradesh government has the Shubhdin Bhojan form available online for donors for a while. Through this concept, the schoolchildren will enjoy not only additional food items but also learn the habits of social bonding and the importance of community participation.

The government advised the donors to contact the HMs of the schools where they are interested in providing food items, directly or through the mobile number given there to reserve the date. It mentioned that they would also provide a payment gateway soon so that the donors outside the location can pay the amount and get the photos of the programme.

Most of the children in the government schools where the PM Poshan scheme is being implemented are from poor families and many are victims of malnutrition. The results of Tithi Bhojan in Gujarat are quite encouraging and that is why the Union government insisted that the states replicate it with the local nomenclature.

However, the officials at the education department failed to understand the importance of the programme and never cared to check whether the Shubhdin Bhojan programme was implemented in the state or not.

When contacted, headmasters in the schools in Prakasam, Guntur, Bapatla, Tirupati, Vizianagaram and Anantapur districts, and a few district education officers said that the Shubhdin Bhojan programme is taken up only as part of the Shiksha Saptah.

They don’t know that the programme is advised to be implemented in the schools long before the NEP2020 is introduced. All of the teachers said that the Shubhdin Bhojan is necessary for adding another morsel of nutritious food to the platter of the midday meal programme, but they need fresh instructions from the government to canvas in support of the voluntary

programme.