1434 headmasters in Bihar receive notices regarding their midday meal criticism.

About 1,450 headmasters or administrators of government-run primary and middle schools who disengaged from a feedback mechanism for the midday food program have been sanctioned by the Bihar Education Department. In addition to giving these people show-cause notices, the department has chosen to defer paying 1,434 headmasters and in-charge wages until later.

Recent letters to District Education Officers (DEOs) around the state claim that these people did not reply to the department’s Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS). From November 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024, 72,000 government schools were to have the midday meal program monitored by the IVRS.

Three questions about student attendance, the number of beneficiaries, and whether the prepared meal fits with the day’s menu are asked of headmasters or those in charge under the IVRS. But a sizable portion of headmasters or other responsible parties neglected to interact with the system within the allotted time.

According to the letter, which PTI was able to receive, the Siwan district had the greatest number of non-responsive headmasters or in-charge (175), followed by Madhubani (112) and Darbhanga (78).

Sunil Kumar, the minister of education for Bihar, was not available for comment.