1 in every 3 students in civic schools malnourished: Praja Foundation

In what reflects a sorry state of provision of nutrition and health among children in the city, a report by civil society NGO Praja has found that one in every three students of municipal schools is malnourished. The children undergo annual medical screening and Praja obtained the data by filing RTIs.

“This report reflects the state of nutrition among the poorest in the city. The government is spending money but is the programme effective?” questioned Nitai Mehta, founder trustee, Praja Foundation.

Close to 3.83 lakh students study in city’s municipal schools of which 1.8 lakh were screened in 2015-16. Of these, 34 per cent children were found to be malnourished, according to the report. 

The M/E (Govandi) ward performed the worst with the most number of malnourished students followed by H/E (Santacruz) and M/W (Chembur) among the city’s 24 wards. 

“This does not come as a surprise as Govandi and Mankhurd have the worst socio-economic indicators,” said Milind Mhaske, project director at Praja. What does come as a surprise is that, even wards like A (Colaba), D (Malabar Hill, Grant Road) and K/E (Andheri east), have a significant number of malnourished children.”

2015-16 REPORT

3,83,485
Total number of students

1,89,809
Total number of students screened

64,681
Malnourished students

73%
of students are malnourished from class 1 to 5 in municipal schools

27%
students are malnourished from class 6 to 9 in municipal schools