{"id":5934,"date":"2026-09-03T11:25:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/?p=5934"},"modified":"2026-09-03T11:25:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:25:28","slug":"teachers-protest-move-to-make-principals-responsible-for-mid-day-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/?p=5934","title":{"rendered":"Teachers Protest Move to Make Principals Responsible for Mid-Day Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The protest followed concerns raised by J. M. Abhyankar<\/strong>, MLC from the Mumbai Teachers Constituency, who wrote to the Commissioner of the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He questioned reports that schools could be required to register for an FBO licence and that the responsibility could ultimately fall on school principals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the concerns raised by the teachers\u2019 organisation, registering the school under such a framework could make the principal legally accountable for several stages of the meal programme, from the handling of food to its preparation and serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teachers argue that such a responsibility would significantly expand the administrative workload of school heads, who already oversee academic activities, staff management, school administration and student welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Principals Are Objecting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A major concern is that principals may be held accountable for problems involving food materials that they do not directly procure or control. Government agencies supply the grains and other ingredients used in the programme, while cooking is generally undertaken by appointed workers or designated agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The teachers\u2019 organisation argues that making principals legally responsible for the complete food-supply chain could therefore place them in a difficult position if there were concerns about the quality of ingredients or problems with meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organisation has also pointed out that teachers and school authorities already maintain records concerning food materials and submit required reports. Adding another layer of licensing and compliance, they say, could divert school leadership away from its primary educational responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Existing Guidelines Already Require Monitoring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Schools are already required to follow several safeguards under existing government instructions. These include maintaining hygienic cooking areas and utensils, ensuring access to safe drinking water and providing students with good-quality and balanced meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schools are also expected to check the quality and quantity of food materials<\/strong>, maintain daily records and ensure that students consume meals in clean surroundings. Parents are required to be involved in tasting the food before it is served, while the School Management Committee and principal have monitoring responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The teachers\u2019 argument is therefore not against food-safety standards themselves. Rather, they are seeking clarity over who should carry legal and operational responsibility<\/strong> for meeting those standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternative Models Suggested<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Teachers and education representatives have proposed alternatives to placing the primary responsibility on principals. One suggestion is for the government to appoint experienced non-governmental organisations through district- or taluka-level tendering processes<\/strong> to operate the meal programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where such arrangements are not feasible, they have suggested assigning greater responsibility to the School Management Committee<\/strong>, allowing the school community to participate in oversight while reducing the burden on individual principals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shikshak Sena has also raised concerns about schools, particularly those in rural areas, where principals may have fewer administrative resources and limited support for managing large-scale meal operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statewide Protest Highlights Growing Concern<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Jogeshwari demonstration was part of wider protests reported across Maharashtra. Members of the teachers\u2019 organisation, along with principals and other school staff, participated in peaceful demonstrations and submitted memorandums to district authorities seeking reconsideration of the proposed licensing requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue has created a debate over how schools can maintain strict food-safety standards without overburdening educators with responsibilities outside their core roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For teachers and principals, the message is clear: student nutrition must remain a priority, but accountability should be assigned to the agencies and personnel who have direct control over food procurement, preparation and distribution.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s response to the concerns raised by educators will determine whether the proposed arrangement is modified, clarified or implemented in its reported form. Until then, the dispute highlights a larger question facing school administration: how can authorities strengthen food safety while allowing principals to remain focused on education?<\/strong>
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The protest followed concerns raised by J. M. Abhyankar, MLC from the Mumbai Teachers Constituency, who wrote to the Commissioner of the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He questioned reports that schools could be required to register for an FBO licence and that the responsibility could ultimately fall on school principals. According to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[3600,3741,3740,3742],"class_list":["post-5934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-news","tag-education-news","tag-maharashtra-schools-2","tag-mid-day-meal","tag-teachers-protest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5936,"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5934\/revisions\/5936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebombaydurpun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}