Karnataka is finally allowing the Mid Day Meal Scheme to resume in schools from October 21. BC Nagesh, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education and Sakala, Karnataka, confirmed to The New Indian Express that districts have been ordered to begin preparations. This comes after most states, including Kerala, have decided to restart the programme.

A few days ago, the State Government had proposed to relaunch the scheme in the last week of October, after the Dussehra holidays. The decision was taken following the announcement to resume primary schools for Classes I to V after Dussehra. However, detailed guidelines have still not been released for the reopening of primary schools and the Education Minister has said that there will be further discussions with the COVID Technical Advisory Committee to iron out the details.  

COVID cases are constantly dropping in the state — only 409 new cases were reported on October 10. The government allowed secondary and high schools to function at 100 per cent capacity from October 4, after most schools reported a gradual increase in attendance. When classes first began offline in September, students only had to attend three days a week, in alternative batches. They have been coming for full-day classes on all weekdays since October 4.

So, how do the logistics for providing meals to school kids during a pandemic pan out? Nagesh says that in rural schools, there are only about 10-30 students in each school. And by dividing them into about three classes, there should be adherence to the safety guidelines. As many as 60 lakh children will benefit from the scheme.