Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has called a meeting with state education ministers to discuss issues related to COVID-19, schools fees and mid-day meal programme, officials said on Monday, The meeting will be held through video conferencing.
“The HRD minister will interact with state education ministers through video call tomorrow to discuss issues like handling of COVID-19, mid-day meal programme and Samagra Shiksha programme,” a senior Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry official said.
Earlier on Monday, Pokhriyal interacted with parents online and addressed various issues, including unavailability of books and uncertainty over board exams, arising due to the lockdown imposed to curb the coronavirus spread.
“Concerns raised by parents, issues related to monitoring of mid-day meal schemes and how to ensure they reach the intended beneficiaries, and addressing genuine concerns of parents and schools are expected to be discussed threadbare,” said another official.
The HRD minister may soon hold another interaction with students soon.
In March last week, the HRD Ministry had asked states and union territories to ensure continued supply of mid-day meals to students despite the closure of schools around the country to check the spread of coronavirus. The suggestions offered included delivering packaged meals or the equivalent amount of food grains to students at home, or depositing money in the bank accounts of their parents. The Samagra Shiksha programme is an integrated scheme for school education.
