Ministry of Education asks Odisha govt to verify mid-day meal data

The Ministry of Education has directed the Odisha government to conduct inspections in schools across eight districts to verify the quality and coverage of mid-day meals (MDM), after the state reported unusually high figures throughout the academic year.

In a recent meeting of the Project Approval Board (PAB) of PM POSHAN, officials flagged concerns over MDM data from Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Jajpur, Puri, Balangir, Jagatsinghpur, Keonjhar, and Kalahandi districts, where schools reportedly maintained near-perfect coverage.

According to official records for 2024–25, Odisha reported an average MDM coverage of 92% for primary and upper-primary students.

However, Malkangiri, Jajpur, Puri, and Mayurbhanj each claimed 100% coverage; Balangir reported 99%; Jagatsinghpur, 97%; and Keonjhar and Kalahandi, 96%.

Taking note of the consistent figures, Sanjay Kumar, secretary of the Department of School Education & Literacy, asked the state to verify the data and assess the actual situation in the field.

Between November last year and June this year, the cost of MDM ingredients was revised three times by both the state and central governments.

Before these adjustments, school authorities reportedly had to alter student attendance to manage costs.

“Over-reporting of MDM was perhaps the only option to adjust the rising prices of commodities required to cook MDM,” said a primary teacher, requesting anonymity.

The PAB also pointed to the low utilization of funds allocated for MDM management, monitoring, and evaluation; only 61% was spent by the state.

It advised Odisha to ensure full and effective use of the funds in the current academic year.

District-level oversight has also been lacking. Only 15 district MDM committee meetings, chaired by local Members of Parliament, were held across just eight of Odisha’s 30 districts.

Additionally, 45 meetings of the district steering-cum-monitoring committee, chaired by district collectors, were conducted in only 10 districts during the same period.

The ministry further cautioned that school inspections have often focused only on easily accessible locations, while institutions in difficult terrain are rarely visited.

It has asked the Odisha government to establish a robust mechanism to ensure all schools are inspected at least twice a year to assess the quality of meals served to students.