The launch of vegetable gardens in schools will help enhance the quality of food provided to students as part of the Noon Meal Scheme, Minister for Education M.A. Baby has said.He was speaking to the students of Government Upper Primary School, Fort, after the inauguration of 'Haritavidyalayam' (Green School), a State-level greening campaign launched by the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), on Monday. "From now on, you will be able to eat nutrient-rich food, which in turn will help you become studious in studies," Mr. Baby said.The Education Minister also urged the school officials to explore the possibility of setting up a vermicompost unit at the school.
"There should be a vermicompost unit in every school. If that is not feasible, then at least a couple of schools in a locality should join together and set up a common unit," the Education Minister suggested. (Vermicomposting is the practice of using earthworms to transform food waste into a nutrient-rich mix.) Mr. Baby said that students would be able to "learn a lot new things by engaging in agricultural activities." Minister for Agriculture Mullakkara Ratnakaran distributed the seeds for the vegetable garden. He reminded the students of the need for sustained care and attention in maintaining the garden. The school garden has vegetables such as spinach, cucumber, tomato, ladies finger and beans growing out of gunny sacks. The programme is assisted by officers from the Agriculture Department. Around 1,200 upper primary schools in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kannur will be covered under the pilot programme, before spreading it to other schools in the State. The function was attended by K.R. Viswambharan, Vice-Chancellor, Kerala Agricultural University; C. Jayan Babu, Mayor; V. Surendran Pillai, MLA; G.R. Anil, chairman of the Corporation's standing committee on health and education; and B. Vijayakumar, State Project Director, SSA.
The Hindu,7th October 2008
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