Mid-day meal payment delays leave teachers, vendors in limbo

The federation members said the delay had created resentment among teachers, particularly those entrusted with responsibility for managing the mid-day meal arrangements. They claimed that the procedure for utilising cooking-cost funds was changed from time to time, creating difficulties for school staff in making payments and managing ration supplies.

According to Toora, in the absence of a separate readily available fund at the school level, teachers or mid-day meal in-charges were often compelled to arrange payments from their own pockets, while some vendors extended credit for a limited period. He alleged that prolonged delays in reimbursement were putting an additional financial burden on teachers and affecting their household budgets.

Toora appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains to streamline the payment mechanism and ensure timely release of funds. He suggested that schools should receive the required cooking-cost budget in advance, preferably for an entire academic year based on student enrolment, with school heads being authorised to make payments directly to vendors through appropriate banking channels.

He said such a mechanism would enable schools to clear vendors’ bills promptly after receiving supplies and reduce the financial pressure on teachers as well as the dependence on credit from shopkeepers.

Federation members urged the Punjab Government to ensure uninterrupted implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and resolve the pending payment issue at the earliest. They maintained that timely availability of funds was essential for the smooth functioning of the scheme and for ensuring that teachers were not required to personally bear expenses incurred for school meals.

Ram Pal, Gur Sevak, Jasvir Singh, Manjit Das, Balwinder Masih, Sohan Lal and Rashpal Singh were also present during the interaction with the media.