Hyderabad: About 32 percent of students in government and local body schools across the state are opting out of the mid-day meals provided under the PM-POSHAN scheme, according to data presented in the Programme Approval Board (PAB) meeting of the Union Ministry of Education for the year 2024-25.
During the meeting, the Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy and Chairman of the PAB, Sanjay Kumar, raised concerns over a decline in student participation in mid-day meals.
Particularly low participation rates were reported in districts like Hyderabad and Mulugu for primary students and in Hyderabad, Pedapalli, Mancherial, Bhadradri, and Medchal for upper primary students, where less than 60% of enrolled students took part in the mid-day meal program.
The report reveals that, despite 11,96,559 students being enrolled in primary schools, the scheme was approved for 11,24,244 students. Of those, only 69% participated in the mid-day meal program during the 2023-24 academic year.
Similarly, in upper primary schools, out of 6,92,429 enrolled students, the scheme was approved for 5,44,348, with just 68% availing of the meals.
The state has been urged to investigate the reasons for this low coverage and implement corrective measures.
One possible explanation is the growing number of students bringing lunch from home whereas other reasons speculated were health concerns and hygiene.
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