New Delhi: The Arvind Kejriwal government has come up with a new rule for schools in Delhi in order to battle rampant malnutrition in schoolchildren. It has decided that mini snack breaks and parental counselling sessions will be introduced in all Delhi schools to combat the problem that hampers optimum physical and cognitive development of children.
The Directorate of Education said in a recent circular that all schools will include a 10-minute mini break in their school timetable. The mini break should be 2.5 hours before the lunch break.
The thought behind the move is to give ample chances to students to eat more food. Normally, a student eats breakfast in the morning and then eats lunch in the afternoon. After this rule is implemented, they will get an additional meal which might bridge the nutritional gap.
The schools have been asked by the government to prepare a weekly schedule and offer three choices of food items that must include seasonal fruits, sprouts, salad, roasted chana and peanuts.
The planner should be displayed in each class. The items suggested to the students must be cost-effective and should be eaten during the snack break.
The head of the school or home science teachers should be incharge of the scheme.
In evening shift schools, mini snacks with low volume and high nutrition should be preferred in weekly planner, said the circular, accessed by PTI.
The teachers should counsel the parents of students and teach them about the impact of a healthy diet on performance in academics, attention span, physical activity and growth.
Class teachers are also encouraged to keep a record of height and weight of students.
