The HRD Ministry will set up a state-of-the-art system to monitor the mid day meal scheme on a real- time basis. The Scheme which covers more than ten and a half crore school children in over 12 lakh schools will be monitored through latest communication system – Inter Voice Response System on a daily basis. It will be uploaded from every school giving details of the number of children having been provided food in every school. Problems, if any, can be fixed by taking corrective action through the district administration.
On the issue of quality of food, the system will allow any stake holder including community leader, to file complaint. The system will integrate web-portal with Inter Voice Response System through Cloud Telephonic. It will be the responsibility of the Head of the school to upload the website. The Government has also set up a panel under the Director of Nutrition Foundation of India, Dr. Prema Rama Chand on calorific norms. The HRD Ministry is also making an endeavour for strengthening the monitoring system of the scheme.
The mid day meal scheme is the largest school nutrition programme. It is designed to promote school participation and prevent class room hunger. The gap between the calories needed and calories available increases from 450 to 700 among the kids from pre-school to in-school.
Reports suggest that the scheme has helped in addressing the problems of class room hunger by providing regular source of supplementary food.
The Scheme covers government-aided schools, local bodies schools and National Child Labor Project Schools. Madrasas/maqtabas reported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan are also covered under the Scheme. The Twelfth Five Year Plan proposes to cover additional one crore seventeen lakh children in 54000 more private and un-aided schools under the Scheme.