LUCKNOW: Kalpana Verma, head teacher at the Primary School, Changapur in UP’s Sitapur district was, on Wednesday suspended following a video showing poor quality of PM Poshan (formerly mid-day meal) and insufficient amount of milk being distributed to students went viral on social media.According to Basic Shiksha Adhikhari, Sitapur, Gorakhnath Patel, the incident took place on Monday and prima-facie it was found that the food served to children was of poor quality. Also, children were not given enough milk to consume.“An inquiry done by the block education officer found that children were given an inadequate amount of milk than the prescribed. Also, the quality of the food served to children was substandard. We have suspended the head teacher, and a detailed probe is underway,” Patel said after he made a physical inspection of the school on Wednesday, with Tuesday being a govt holiday.In the video clip, children were seen holding plates with watery potato curry.Later, they were seen dipping roti in the watery curry and eating. The govt’s PM Poshan scheme is aimed at enhancing the nutritional standing of school-age children in the state-run schools.“After a detailed investigation, if irregularities are found, stern action will be taken against those found responsible,” Patel said.Similar incidents have happened in the past too. In February, a video showing milk being diluted with water in a govt school in Mahoba emerged and went viral on social media.Earlier in October 2021, five litres of water was mixed with two litres of milk in a govt school in Meerut.In November 2019, one litre of milk was mixed with a bucket of water and distributed to 81 children in a govt school in Sonbhadra district.In August 2019, a video showing a woman distributing rotis and another woman giving salt to children as midday meal in a primary school in Mirzapur had surfaced.
