Assam teachers warn midday meals may stop as funds stay unpaid

The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association (ASPTA) has warned that many schools in the state may not be able to serve midday meals to children from November 1 because funds for the scheme have not been released for months, The Assam Tribune reported.

In two representations submitted on Friday to the Mission Director of Samagra Shiksha Assam, the association asked for the pending money to be cleared at once and for funds to be released in advance in future.

Meals bought on credit

According to the association, head teachers have been buying food items for the midday meal on credit from local shops for several months. With unpaid bills now running from thousands to lakhs of rupees in some schools, shopkeepers have started refusing to give more goods on credit.

ASPTA president Ratul Chandra Goswami and general secretary Sailendra Kalita said this has made it increasingly hard for schools to keep the scheme going. They urged the department to ensure that no punitive or disciplinary action is taken against teachers if meals cannot be served from November 1 because of the fund shortage.

The midday meal scheme, now run nationally as PM POSHAN, provides a cooked lunch to children in government and government-aided primary and upper primary schools and is one of the main reasons many poorer families send children to school regularly.

'Teachers do not want to become contractors'

In its second representation, the association objected to new instructions on how schools should spend infrastructure grants and other school grants for 2026-27. It cited orders issued by the Hojai district authorities on October 27 and the Sivasagar district authorities on October 26.

The teachers say the system would in effect turn them into contractors. Under the instructions, they argue, teachers would have to buy materials with their own money to get receipts from suppliers, and then submit the bills. If the department later pays suppliers directly, teachers who had already paid may not get their money back and could be left out of pocket.

"Teachers do not want to become contractors," the association said. It added that teachers would not be able to use the infrastructure grants unless the instructions were revised, and should not be blamed if school buildings deteriorate because the money could not be spent.

What the teachers want

ASPTA has demanded immediate release of midday meal dues, advance allocation of funds, withdrawal of the district instructions on school grants, and a practical system for using grants that does not put financial risk on teachers.

Samagra Shiksha Assam had not publicly responded to the representations at the time of the report. It was not immediately clear how many schools had stopped serving meals on November 1, a Sunday.