Kids showing green vegetables at upper primary school at Shankargarh
Basic Shiksha Adhikari (Prayagraj), Anil Kumar , said that green vegetables are now being cultivated in parishad schools’ nutrition gardens. At an upper primary school in Shankargarh, trans-Yamuna, principal Rajesh Singh Patel said students will be split into groups to look after garden beds, plants and pots. He said vegetables have already begun to grow on the campus.
He added, “Instructions have been issued to grow seasonal vegetables that can be easily cultivated within the school premises. The selection focuses on vegetables that are easy to grow or are creepers capable of spreading onto the school building’s roof.
This initiative will benefit 3.5 lakh children studying in 2,832 Uttar Pradesh Basic Shiksha Parishad schools across Prayagraj. ” At present, approximately 647 women across 325 groups in 17 blocks of Pratapgarh district are engaged in the work of pounding spices using traditional mortars and packaging them. The district sees a monthly requirement of over 90,000 packets of these spices for its parishad schools. Officials of the education department claimed, “The use of pesticides and chemicals to boost vegetable production can leave an adverse impact on consumers. In light of this, the Basic Education department has decided to set up nutrition gardens (Poshan Vatikas) at all primary and upper primary council schools. On the one hand, this will provide a large local market for the home-based enterprises run by the women’s groups, while on the other, children will receive meals prepared with unadulterated spices. The supply of spices will commence as soon as the contract is finalised by the Basic Education Department.