Several parents raised concerns regarding the circular, insisting that the school should not be deciding the food habits of students.
Published Sep 06, 2023 | 8:18 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 06, 2023 | 8:25 PM
Samyuktha school.
The decision of a Telangana school restricting the consumption of non-vegetarian food, including eggs, in view of an upcoming religious ceremony there has caused a stir on social media.
Samyuktha School, located in the Malkapur village of the Sangareddy district, decided to temporarily restrict the consumption of non-vegetarian food items as the ceremony is to be held on the school campus from 6 September to 11 September.
According to a widely circulated WhatsApp screenshot addressed to parents, the school conveyed that the canteen facility would continue to operate as usual during this period, but without eggs and non-vegetarian items. The restriction applied to students from Grade 1K to Grade 8.
The announcement, which was accessed by South First, said, “Dear Parent, Greetings! For Grades 1K to Grade 8. The canteen facility is as usual from tomorrow i.e 6th September. However, we will not be having an egg, non-vegetarian as Pooja is getting held in school for the next 7 days till 11th September on the campus.”
It added: “Non-canteen students: make a note egg and non-veg is not allowed strictly for a week.”
It also said that a holiday would be given on 7 September for Janmashtami and the school would function as usual for students from Class 1 to Class 8 on 9 September.
Meanwhile, the manager of the school confirmed to South First that the announcement was indeed circulated by the school authorities, albeit annoyed by our queries.
“Yes, we are conducting a pooja and that is the reason for the announcement to avoid non-vegetarian food on school premises. There is a very famous Maheswara Siddhanti in Sangareddy and he is performing Saraswati Pooja in the school, so we had passed on the message that non-vegetarian was not allowed,” said Srikanth, the manager of Samyuktha School.
“This is the first year of our school. Why should the messages go viral and who is doing it? If there are any questions, one should visit the school and enquire about it,” he further said.
Meanwhile, when the school website was accessed by South First, the institution published a notice which said the school would be charging an extra amount of ₹200 per day if the fee was paid after the due date. The late fee of this kind does not exist in any other schools.
Ramesh, the parent of a Grade 8 student in one of the international schools in Hyderabad, told South First: “Several festivals are celebrated in the city and we were never restricted from packing non-vegetarian food in children’s lunchboxes. The food that children consume is their wish and as parents, we have never told them what to eat and what not to eat.”
Another parent, Rekha, said: “Firstly, no educational institution should conduct any religious rituals inside its premises. Teaching children to pray is good but here in Telangana, I have observed that there are arrangements for Ganesh pandal in schools and colleges. It is not about right or wrong but it is also about the impact it has on students.”
Venkat Sai, general secretary of Hyderabad School Parents Association, told South First: “This announcement on not allowing non-vegetarian food in school is unusual as we have not come across anything all these years.”
He added that the parents in Hyderabad schools faced other food-related issues, like being forced to buy high-priced canteen food.
“The mandatory mess or cafeteria to serve food to children has been hotly debated because there is no regulation of anything done by private schools in Telangana. They slowly counsel parents on how will children eat healthy food in school and charge them with huge charges for food. This is the biggest business for schools by charging 40 to 50 percent margin on food,” he said.
