Bhubaneswar: A sharp rise in the prices of eggs and vegetables has left many govt schools, particularly those catering to children from Sishuvatika to Class V, struggling to provide nutritious mid-day meals (MDM) within the state’s prescribed cooking cost.Teachers and school authorities said the situation has worsened over the past few weeks as incessant rain has pushed up vegetable prices, while eggs are retailing at around Rs 9 a piece and wholesaling at Rs 7.15 per eggs due to lower production since over a month.In govt schools, eggs are served under the MDM programme three times a week – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Under the PM POSHAN scheme and the Mukhyamantri POSHAN Yojana, the state provides a cooking cost of Rs 11.15 per child for primary classes and Rs 14.74 for upper primary students. Teachers said the allocation for younger children has become increasingly unrealistic in view of prevailing market prices.Brahmananda Maharana, president of the State Primary Teachers’ Association, has urged the govt to revise the cooking cost of primary students in line with prevailing market rates.Officials in the school and mass education department said they are aware of the fluctuations in food prices and are analysing the situation on what steps could be taken.“Primary schools generally have fewer students than upper primary or high schools. Cooking for a smaller number of children increases the per-head cost because we cannot buy ingredients in bulk and often have to procure them from retail markets. If we are spending around Rs 8 on an egg alone, how are we expected to meet the cost of vegetables, oil, spices and firewood within the prescribed cooking cost?” said the headmaster of a govt primary school in Koraput, requesting anonymity.The spike in egg prices has been attributed to multiple factors. Odisha meets a substantial part of its egg requirement from Ganjam district and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Fisheries and animal resources development minister Gokulananda Mallick on Sunday said the recent increase was triggered by heatwave-related poultry losses, higher exports and rising demand following the reopening of schools and anganwadi centres.Vegetable prices, too, have surged. Traders said that barring potatoes, the prices of most vegetables have increased by Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kg. “The stock of locally grown vegetables has been exhausted. Odisha depends largely on other states for its vegetable requirement, but supplies from those markets have also declined because crops have been damaged by rain,” said Kabiraj Swain, head of a vegetable traders’ association.Teachers said the rising prices are already reflecting on students’ plates, with curries now largely limited to potatoes and pumpkins, while eggs are often cooked with little more than turmeric and water. Although seasonal fluctuations in food prices are common, they said the simultaneous rise in the prices of both eggs and vegetables has placed schools under severe financial strain.
