An acting principal of a government school in Madhya Pradesh’s Maihar district was suspended on Friday for negligence after students were served their special Republic Day midday meals on scraps of paper, including torn notebook pages, PTI reported.
The incident had come to light after a video circulating on social media showed students of the Government High School in Bhatigwan village being served puri and halwa on ink-stained pages torn from old books on January 26.
The midday meal programme under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman is a centrally-sponsored scheme that is aimed at providing nutritious meals to students enrolled in government and aided schools.
The district administration had taken cognisance of the incident in Bhatigwan village after the video triggered outrage. A proposal had also been forwarded to the Rewa divisional commissioner to suspend the principal.
In an order on Friday, Rewa Division Commissioner BS Jamod said that “in-charge principal Sushil Kumar Tripathi of Government High School Bhatigwan has been suspended with immediate effect for negligence in organising a special Republic Day lunch programme at the school”.
Tripathi has been attached to the district education officer’s office, the news agency reported.
Maihar Collector Rani Batad also took cognisance of the incident, ordering an investigation and strict action against those involved.
The incident on January 26 came nearly two months after another video from a school in Hullpur village in the state’s Sheopur district showed students eating their midday meals on a newspaper.
At the time, Sheopur District Collector Arpit Verma had ordered an inquiry by the sub-divisional magistrate into the matter. After the inquiry confirmed the incident, the self-help group responsible for serving the meals was terminated and a show-cause notice was issued to the principal of the school.
Sharing the video on social media, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav should feel ashamed for nurturing “India’s future” in such a “pitiable state”.
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