The Bihar Education Department has taken action against approximately 1,450 headmasters or in-charge of government-run primary and middle schools who failed to engage with a feedback system for the mid-day meal scheme. Show-cause notices have been issued to these individuals, and the department has further decided to withhold the salaries of 1,434 headmasters/in-charge until further notice.

According to recent correspondence sent to District Education Officers (DEOs) across the state, these individuals did not respond to the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) developed by the department. The IVRS was implemented to monitor the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in 72,000 government schools from November 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024.

Under the IVRS, headmasters or in-charge are prompted with three questions to provide information on student attendance, the number of beneficiaries, and whether the prepared food aligns with the menu of the day. However, a significant number of headmasters or in-charge failed to engage with the system during the specified period.

The letter, which has been obtained by PTI, highlights that the highest number of non-responsive headmasters or in-charge were from Siwan district, with a total of 175, followed by Madhubani with 112 and Darbhanga with 78.

Bihar Education Minister Sunil Kumar was not available for comment on the matter.

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