East Singhbhum district mandates no non-vegetarian food in student lunchboxes in both government and private schools, following an incident that sparked controversy.
JAMSHEDPUR – Following an incident that caused unrest among school-goers, East Singhbhum district’s education authority has decided to ban non-vegetarian food in lunchboxes in both government and private schools.
The directive was announced by District Education Superintendent Nishu Kumari on Tuesday.
Detailed guidelines pertaining to this ban will be circulated to all school administrators within two days.
Root of the Controversy
This directive comes in the wake of a controversial incident where a Class IV student from a private school in the city shared non-vegetarian food from her lunchbox with a friend.
Given that the latter student and her family abstained from consuming non-vegetarian food during the Sawan month, they demanded action against the girl who had shared the non-veg food.
The parents went as far as withdrawing their child from the school.
This issue was widely covered by the media, adding fuel to the fire.
In response, District Education Superintendent Nishu Kumari convened a meeting with the school administration on Tuesday to understand the nuances of the incident.
The school principal defended the students by stating that the sharing of non-vegetarian food was due to the children’s innocence and lack of awareness.
Steps Taken
To prevent such situations in the future, it was decided that students will be advised against bringing non-vegetarian food to school.
A formal advisory will also be issued concerning the consumption of junk food.
In a separate incident, the District Superintendent of Education ordered a pay cut for the principal of Tamadia Basti Middle School in Birsanagar Zone Number Six of Jamshedpur.
This action was taken following a case of negligence where the school was locked on July 5 with a third-grade student still sleeping inside.
The principal’s increment will be withheld as a result of this incident.
