A Hyderabad based school has asked its students not to bring eggs, rice,noodles, and non-vegetarian food for lunch. Maheshwari Vidyalaya, which has a strength of 800 students, allegedly inspects students’ lunch boxes and even punishes the kids who do not comply. When approached, the school management gave a rather bizarre explanation for its diktat.
“Some parents don’t have the time to cook meals in the morning, so they pack rice made the previous day. The students cannot concentrate after eating stale food,” school administrator, Monika was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
In conversation with The News Minute, she further said, that non-vegetarian food is not allowed as children from specific communities where meat is prohibited might end up eating it from their peers’ lunch boxes, without realising that it hurts the sentiments of their religion or community.
Indian Express
Balala Hakkula Sangham, a city-based child rights group, flagged the issue with the district administration, after it came to know about the food restrictions imposed by the school.
Child right activist and president of Balala Hakkula Sangham, Achyuta Rao alleged that the school management is acting on religious grounds and is not only violating child rights but it is also keeping children away from nutritious food.
“The school only allows children to bring meals that consist of chapatis, with one dry vegetable curry, which should be without garlic and onion. The school staff regularly inspects the students’ tiffin boxes and punish those kids who do not comply with these obnoxious rules,” The News Minute reported quoting Rao.
