Azim Premji Foundation marks lapses in Karnataka government school egg distribution scheme

The Azim Premji Foundation has expressed concerns over the improper operationalisation of the six-day-a-week egg distribution programme in many government schools in Karnataka. The irregularities, the Foundation said, were caused by one-sided decisions by School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs).

 

Eggs substituted with bananas in most schools

In spite of the scheme of eggs being made compulsory for being served six days a week, the Foundation reported eggs are being served only two or three days of the week in most of the schools. Banana is served on the rest of the days. The discrepancy was found by Azim Premji Foundation during school inspections and the foundation has helped out ₹1,500 crore under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to implement this scheme.

 

Key observations from school inspections

After inspecting 762 schools, the Foundation observed that 568 schools were not serving eggs as directed by the scheme. In a few schools, SDMCs, sometimes with the agreement of parents, have opted to give bananas on Mondays and Saturdays. In others, the routine has been changed to three days' eggs and three days' bananas. But children are said to like getting eggs.

 

Memorandum released; warning of disciplinary action

The Foundation had filed a report with the state education department, which has now released a memorandum directing SDMCs to get back on track. The department clarified that SDMCs are not entitled to make changes to the approved nutrition plan independently.

 

The Director of PM Poshan Shakti Nirman cautioned that lapses if repeated would result in disciplinary action against school-level supervisors like headmasters, cluster heads, taluk, and district education officers who did not immediately stop or correct the breaches.