AGARTALA, Nov 14 (TIWN): Tripura School Education Dept like every year this year too had organized a colourful ceremony on the occasion of Children’s Day-2016 at Umakanta School Ground, where town based students with colourful appearance, high quality performance attracted the mass on Monday. But what about the daily pains of the rural children who are suffering from lack of nutrition and served with poor quality of mid day meal everyday at their school ? When Tripura will celebrate a children day when a single child will not suffer from lack of nutrition and no child-labour will be seen in town and village areas ? Just in last month TIWN reported about a pathetic condition of an Anganwadi centre at Dean Pasa at North Tripura where children are consuming poisonous water made food everyday. The well remained without maintenance since many years, Dharmanagar eye witnessed correspondent told from the spot. Reportedly, the Anganwadi Centre in Deoan-Pasa is under heavy challenge due to Panchayat’s too much interference in it.

Surpisingly on Oct. 21 when complain raised, the Panchayat Pradhan named Sobha Devi, when came to the spot, after agitated public stopped class in that mentioned pre-primary school, she said the Anganwadi has water supply system but later she miserable failed to show any water-supply inside it. Then she realized no water supply is there inside the Anganwadi. This is the condition of Golden Era, where the leaders are leading such pathetic level knowledge about own areas. 

Apart from this there are many other cases when children were found to be victim of poisonous  mid-day meal in state.

For an instance before a month during CPI-M central committee meeting when many Ministerswere visiting Delhi  TIWN asked Tripura’s Health Minister Badal Choudhury’s over phone  about 2015-16’s record about Mal nutrition & did any children die in his state out of malnutrition.But his reaction was like this, ‘I am at Delhi. I do not have those datas with me you are asking for. Better you ask the Doctors to know about Mal nutrition death toll in Tripura. Why I am being asked ?’,  

 Tripura Education system’s pathetic condition, state wide poor infrastructure, Mid-day-meal corruption, NHM scam have brought the Quality of Education into various challenges. State Tripura is now considered for  holding the highest literacy-rate in the whole country but all the education just for namesake as disable Education Dept, corruption tainted Govt. officials have no intension to develop the quality of Education, neither the department has any motive to upgrade the infrastructure of schools. 

 Moreover, due to too many unfilled vacant posts,  the rural schools are suffering from lack of teachers. 

 State Education Dept’s direct involvement into mid-day-meal scams was proven, when the state govt. sent a vague report about various Agartala based schools to sanction more funds. From 2010-2015, Tripura Govt. spent 336 crore’s of central funds. After that BJP exposed about Govt’s publishing of a wrong report with vague number of students, taking data from the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWPB) for 2014-15.

  In a press meet, in July month, BJP said that whereas the number of students were 3,36,400 in the annual report it was shown as 3,44,265 with at least 7856 students more than the actual number of students. In total there are 18 % decrease of students admission under Mid-day meal scheme was reported by BJP on that time. 

 Apart from BJP allegation, there are also reports of wastage of food grains in state. Food inspector reportedly didn’t collect 471.233 metric ton of food from the go-downs and there are reports of 42.08 metric ton food grain’s wastage in 71 schools.  147 schools have been alleged for irregular supply of mid day meals to students.

 Surprisingly from Agartala’s renowned schools like Netaji Subhash Vidyaniketan, Tulsibati and Umakanta School allegation raised for sending vague reports to the Central with maximum number of students under mid-day-meal, whereas a less number of students in actual take mid-day-meal there.

 Recently the de-worming tablet scam has hit all levels of guardians, where more than 500 students became sick at a glance, after they took de-worming tablets. Tripura Govt. however, explained the issue with a press release that the medicines were not expired, but it’s natural that after de-worming tablets children may fall sick. 

 Statewide violation of RTE is going on from basic facility to book supply. But under the lameduck Education Minister, all corruptions & negligence have remained unchecked. The Social Welfare Minister Bijita Nath also has no concern about the increasing Mid-Day-Scams in various Anganwadi Centres.