Reduce Mid-Day Meal Burden..Set Up Cluster Kitchens - Karnataka Teachers’ Association

The Karnataka Primary School Teachers’ Association has urged the state government to establish cluster-level kitchens to reduce the burden of mid-day meal responsibilities on teachers. According to the association, assigning meal-related duties to two or three teachers in every school is affecting academic activities and limiting the time available for teaching. The association has proposed setting up one centralised kitchen for every cluster of 10 schools and entrusting the responsibility of preparing and supplying meals to self-help groups. It believes this arrangement could help streamline meal distribution while allowing teachers to concentrate more effectively on classroom instruction and students’ academic progress.

The demand comes at a time when a large number of teachers in Karnataka are also reportedly engaged in electoral roll revision work. According to the information provided by the association, around 65,000 teachers have been diverted to duties related to revising electoral rolls. The additional responsibilities have raised concerns about the pressure on school staff and the possible impact on regular academic activities. The proposed cluster-kitchen model is intended to ease the workload on teachers and improve the management of the mid-day meal programme. The association has called on the state government to consider the proposal and take appropriate steps to ensure that both meal services and teaching activities run smoothly.