Evaluation of infrastructure and financial resources in the Midday Meal Program: An in-depth study in upper primary schools of Kolkata

Abstract

Introduction: The Midday Meal (MDM) Program in India is for primary and upper primary school students. To continue an effective program, infrastructure and financial resources should be both maintained and sustained.Objectives: The objectives of this study are to assess the adequacy of infrastructures and fund support available for the MDM Program of upper primary schools of Kolkata. Methodology: An institutional-based observational study with a cross-sectional design was conducted in government and government-aided schools of Kolkata over a period of 2 years from November 2016 to October 2018. A sample of 52 schools from a total of 515 schools was selected by simple random sampling. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 16.0 (IBM, SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were performed. Results: Infrastructure was satisfactory in 29 (55.8%) schools and unsatisfactory in 23 (44.2%) schools. There was a statistically significant difference of infrastructure between government schools and government-aided schools (P = 0.043). Financial resource was satisfactory in 88.9% of government schools and 85.7% of government-aided schools and this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This evaluation study showed more than half and most of the schools were satisfactory in terms of infrastructure and financial status of the mid-day meal programme of Upper Primary Schools of Kolkata respectively, still intensified efforts like proper allocation of resources and supervision were needed to fulfill the lacunae.

Keywords

• financial resources
• infrastructures
• midday meal program