HRD Ministry issues guidelines to set up Kitchen Gardens at schools across the country

The Centre has issued instructions to all the states and union territories to set up a Kitchen Garden in all its schools. The Human Resource and Development Ministry has issued the guidelines for developing and maintaining a kitchen garden in all the schools situated in both rural and urban areas of each state.

The HRD Ministry has sent the instructions to the chief secretaries and the Education Secretaries of all the states for the School Nutrition Gardens and issued the directive to the states and union territories for setting up the same in all the schools.

According to the guidelines issued by the HRD Ministry, seeds, saplings, organic manure, training and technical assistance for setting up the kitchen garden can be obtained by getting into tie-ups with agencies like Krishi Vigyan Kendras, the Department of Agriculture/Horticulture, Food and Nutrition Board, State agriculture universities and the forest department.

Apart from these, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, activities like the construction of boundary walls and leveling of the land for the kitchen garden can be taken up.

The kitchen gardens have been brought in with an aim to improve the nutrition levels in schools and inculcate good habits among children at a time when urbanization and mounting environmental issues are growing at a fast pace. Setting up Kitchen Gardens will also help the children develop their skills of growing their own fruits and vegetables in schools as well as at homes.

The guidelines laid down by the HRD Ministry give importance to the perception that the  School Nutrition Garden also known as the kitchen garden can be set up anywhere even in a school situated in a place as crowded as an urban area.

Recently students from the government schools in Uttar Pradesh were reported of starting to create their own kitchen garden by growing fruits and vegetables of their choice. The instructions to set up these kitchen gardens were given by the HRD Ministry.

Also Read: UP Students to plant fruits and vegetables for midday meal scheme