In India, the mid-day meal has long been more than food.
Since its expansion under the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education and, later, the PM POSHAN scheme, the plate handed to a child at noon has functioned as a state guarantee that schooling would come with at least one reliable meal.
It has also made the classroom a space where the state’s concern for children is registered materially, through nutrition, attendance, and retention.
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In India, the mid-day meal has long been more than food. Since its expansion under the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education and, later, the PM POSHAN scheme, the plate handed to a child at noon has functioned as a state guarantee that schooling would come with at least one reliable meal. It has also made the classroom a space where the state’s concern for children is registered materially, through nutrition, attendance, and retention.
(Sign up for THEdge, The Hindu’s weekly education newsletter.)
