Cuttack, Feb 12: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced an extension of the mid-day meal (MDM) program by including students of Classes 9 and 10. Until now, the scheme was only available to students up to Class 8.
CM Majhi made the announcement while speaking at an event to celebrate the centenary foundation day of the Ranihat High School in Odisha’s Cuttack.
Speaking about the Sahid Madho Singh Hata Kharcha Yojana, he emphasized that the government is fully committed to preventing school dropouts. He reiterated his administration's dedication to strengthening the school education system.
The government plans to allocate Rs 4-5 crore for the establishment of the Godabarish Mishra Adarsh Prathamik Vidyalaya across the state.
He criticized the previous BJD government for neglecting primary education, claiming that they were more focused on cosmetic improvements like whitewashing schools under the 5T program, rather than addressing the real needs of the education sector.
It is worth noting that on November 30 last year, the government raised the material costs for midday meals in primary and upper primary schools under the PM Poshan scheme.
According to a notification, the material cost for midday meals for primary students in Classes 1 to 5 was increased from Rs 5.90 to Rs 7.64. Similarly, for upper primary students in Classes 6 to 8, the cost was raised from Rs 8.82 to Rs 10.94.
