UP Govt Schools Encourage Students To Grow Kitchen Gardens & Supplement Their Mid-Day Meals

Times are a-changing and the gap between government and private schools is slowly but surely decreasing with each passing day. For instance, the Bhopal government is going to organise free coaching classes for students so that they don’t have to rely on expensive tuitions. The Delhi government, in turn, has collaborated with Super 30 founder Anand Kumar to provide online classes for class XI and XII IIT-JEE aspirants.

Now, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is going to provide Rs.5000 per year to government schools in Uttar Pradesh so that children up to Class VIII can set up and tend to their own kitchen gardens. The fruits and vegetables thus grown would be used in the preparation of their mid-day meals.

According to The Times of India, the gardens can be started on any available land on the school premises including the terrace using pots, containers or bags. Each school can decide on the type of produce to be grown depending on locality and feasibility. UP state government authorities believe that,

“When children will work hard to grow vegetables and are asked to eat it, the vegetable will taste different to them for the simple reason that they would already have had developed a connect.”

Workshops will also be organised for the school staff to teach them the basics of gardening and handle their issues and queries if any.

Shailendra Rajan, Director of Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) was quoted saying,

“Besides improving the nutritive value of mid-day meal, it will also make children aware of seasonal vegetables. The activity may also bring a change in the food habits of the families of these children.”

This is such a wonderful step for developing the children’s green thumb and at the same time teaching them about the nutritional value of food.

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