UP Students to plant fruits and vegetables for midday meal scheme

In an innovative initiative, the students from all the government schools in Uttar Pradesh will create their own kitchen gardens by growing fruits and vegetables of their choice. The ministry of Human Resources Development has issued all the government schools in the state with instructions. The students who will be in this initiative will be those up to classes 8.

An official from the state education department said that when the children will work hard to grow the produce the taste of having them will be different simply because it is the fruit of their hard work and that they will be able to connect with it.

The intention behind this scheme is to boost the nutritive value of the midday meal served and also to encourage children into agriculture by making them grow plants, vegetables, and fruits. According to the MHRD instructions, the schools which do not have land available at their disposal can raise a terrace garden and use pots, containers or bags for cultivating the produce. The kitchen gardens will be managed by the children with the help of the staff and teachers.

Anupama Jaiswal, Minister for Basic Education in UP said that Rs. 5000 will be allocated by the MHRD every year for each of the schools for the sole purpose of gardening. Each school will have to work out its own plan taking into consideration the variety of vegetables or fruits they wish to grow in their locality.  

The midday meal has already been a success story for the primary school education provided by the state government. With the kitchen garden, a further boost is expected. The Central Institution of Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) will help the schools to make proper use of the funds and the land.

Close to 2500 schools in the state have their kitchen gardens raised by the teachers and students even before the instructions for the same were forwarded by the MHRD. These schools will play a major role in guiding the others with regard to decisions like what to plant and who would take care of the garden when the school is closed.

The state government is also set to organize workshops at CISH by mid-August wherein teachers, staff and students from some of the schools will be called in to clarify doubts if any. They will also be taught gardening techniques and will also be given awareness of the benefits of seasonal vegetables.  

The director of CISH, Shailendra Rajan said that the workshop will also help in guiding the participants on the collectively growing of vegetables and fruits on the land available to them.