Hyderabad: Telangana Gazetted Junior Lecturers’ Association has demanded that the state introduce the mid-day meals scheme for Intermediate students from the start of the next academic year. They said it would not only improve admissions but also ensure that the attendance percentage of students improves.
“Mid-day meals scheme has shown positive results in schools. Intermediate will be no different. It has also been a long-pending demand to introduce this scheme in junior colleges. At least now, the govt should implement it from the start of the academic year 2025-26,” K Suresh of the Association said.
He said that at least 30% students, especially in rural areas, do not return to classes after going home for lunch, and this issue would be addressed by introducing mid-day meals in govt junior colleges. They also suggested that students should receive scholarship amount monthly by linking them to their attendance, instead of releasing them annually, mostly at the end of the academic year, to improve learning outcomes.
Lecturers said that the state should also introduce new courses and hire the required faculty after consultations with faculty and experts to understand which courses to introduce.