What Do the Children Eat in Schools? Teachers’ Account

Abstract

Moving beyond households and families, the next chapter shares accounts of interactions with teachers of government schools. It explores their perceptions regarding the implementation, the benefits and challenges of the school meal program and other health-related measures being implemented by the government. It presents a detailed analysis of the teachers’ understanding of the health and nutrition status of children in their schools and the changes in their food consumption patterns. It also shows the extent to which teachers show awareness and appreciation of health-related measures in school by connecting it with various positive changes in the social context such as reduction in child labor. The chapter illustrates how an integrated curriculum of education, health, and nutrition could be built as a route to improve the health and nutritional profile of students and subsequently their academic performance. The school can provide an important locus for providing critical nutritional inputs for children through improved quality of food provided through the MDM; through proper monitoring of quality and composition of the food, training of cooks in preparing tasty and healthy meals, reintroducing traditional/locally preferred foods such as ragi and jowar, and engaging with the community on promoting healthy eating practices both in school and at home.