Kishtwar district sans MDM scheme funds for last over 1 year

Teachers forced to bear expenses form pocket

Kishtwar: It may sound strange, but it is a fact that the implementation of Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme in this mountainous district is burning holes in the pockets of the teachers, including those working as ReT as in absence of release of funds from the government, they are forced to bear the expenses of material for feeding the school children from their own pockets. The district, where a total of 37317 children, including 28582 studying in 490 primary and 9235 studying in 242 Middle schools are covered under the flagship scheme, have not received any funds for last one year to bear the expenses on material, other than rice, to run the scheme, highly placed sources said. While there are stringent directions from authorities not to miss a single day without providing meals to the children, they have failed to provide funds to the teachers for purchasing the requisite material forcing them to make the two ends meet on their own. “The condition of the teachers is so pathetic that they are unable to come in market to avoid the shopkeepers from whom they have been lifting the material on credit” said a teacher on the condition of anonymity. He said not only the regular teachers, but ReTs who are working a small honorarium have also got entangled in huge debts after taking the material on credit from the shopkeepers. The government has provided them (schools) the stocks of rice at the scale of 100 gram per head to primary and 150 grams per head to Middle schools, while it has failed to provide the funds for other materials Rs 2.69 per head for PM Schools and Rs 4.03 per head for MSs for the last over a year. As per the sources, the Middle schools have not received any funds on this account from March 2010 to till date, while during 2009 the funds for period September 2009 to march 2010 are also pending. Similarly, the Primary schools have also not received any funds during the last year till date.