Shortcomings exposed at Gurukul hostels & govt schools

Mahabubnagar: In a significant development for students’ food security, the Chairman of the Food Commission, Goli Srinivas Reddy, along with his team, uncovered alarming discrepancies during their visit to Gurukul hostels and government schools in the Makthal and Narayanpet constituencies. On Friday, the Food Commission members conducted an inspection of multiple government schools and Gurukul hostels in the region, including Gudigandla, Jaklair, and residential Gurukula schools in Narayanpet.

They discovered that food was being prepared under unhygienic conditions, with in-sect-infested rice and poor-quality, improperly cut vegetables being used. Additionally, the prepara-tion of sambhar and dal was substandard, with the incorrect use of ingredients leading to bland and tasteless meals. Worse still, the water storage tanks in these schools and hostels were found to be poorly maintained, with many not having been cleaned for months.

During their visit, the Commission members emphasized the importance of food security for stu-dents, urging school authorities to provide nutritious, tasty meals daily. “There should be no compromise on the quality of food served to students,” said Goli Srinivas Red-dy, stressing that students’ food security is a matter of utmost priority.

The Commission team also inspected the quality of midday meals and essential cooking supplies such as rice, pulses, oil, salt, and spices. At the Gudigandla school, they suggested improvements to the vegetable curry to enhance its taste. They also instructed that boiled eggs should be served to students within 30 minutes of cooking and that vegetables and pulses should be cooked with proper seeds for optimal nutritional value.

In addition, the Commission inspected the water used for cooking and recommended that the water storage tanks be cleaned regularly to maintain hygiene. They also interacted with students, gathering feedback on the food quality, and advised the Headmaster (HM) to ensure that teachers taste the food before it is served to students.

At the Jaklair Zilla Parishad (ZP) High School they found further issues with food preparation. They recommended replacing farm oil with branded cooking oil and questioned the quality of ginger used for cooking. Additionally, they raised concerns over the absence of olive and jeera seeds in the vege-tables and pulses. The Commission warned that any negligence in maintaining food quality would be taken seriously.

The Commission also emphasized the need to educate students about the nutritional benefits of the ingredients used in their meals. They instructed that teachers, along with the mess committee, should evaluate the food quality before serving it, ensuring that students receive meals that are not only nutritious but also enjoyable.

In Narayanpet, the Commission addressed a serious issue where rice supplied to a school was found to be infested with insects. The Commission immediately ensured that the rice was replaced with fresh stock. Furthermore, they instructed the installation of complaint boxes in schools to allow stu-dents to report issues with food quality anonymously.