Madhyapur Thimi Municipality Boosts Student Attraction with 'Book Free Day' and Quality Midday Meals

Bhaktapur. Madhyapur Thimi Municipality has seen a significant increase in student attraction to community schools since it began operating every Friday as 'Book Free Day' within the municipal area. The municipality has introduced various creative programs in community schools with the objective of making students excel in practical knowledge and moral education, informed the municipality's spokesperson Krishna Hari Acharya. Speaking at the site observation program of ward-level development and social work organized by Rastriya Sanchar Kendra Nepal on Sunday, spokesperson Acharya said, 'We have started providing students with not just theoretical knowledge but also practical and livelihood-related education. We are conducting teaching-learning activities in a different way by making Friday a Book Free Day.' He claimed that the attraction of parents and students towards community schools is increasing these days. He stated that due to the excessive increase in student numbers, community schools are now in a situation where admissions are not possible. Acharya, who is also the ward chairman of Madhyapur Thimi Municipality-3, informed that the ward office is prioritizing work on physical infrastructure development along with social security, healthcare, education, and other public-oriented programs. The municipality, in partnership with the World Food Programme, has been providing quality midday meals to students by operating a centralized kitchen to strengthen the physical and mental health of community school students. For this, the municipality has also implemented the 'Centralized Kitchen Operation and Management Procedure, 2082'. The municipality stated that operating a centralized kitchen was done to save time, labor, and cost, and to maintain uniformity in the quality of meals, as arranging separate kitchens for midday meal preparation in each school would increase time, labor, and cost, and make it difficult to maintain uniformity in meal quality. Spokesperson Acharya said that this quality midday meal program has provided great relief to parents and students. He said, 'This program has removed the worry for parents of students studying in community schools about what to send for their children's lunch.' Approximately twenty-eight hundred students studying from early childhood development classes (ECED) to grade 5 in community schools have benefited from this program. Nutritious meals, different each day, are being distributed to students under the direct supervision of food inspectors. The municipality claims that this program is having a very positive impact on children's nutrition, health, and school attendance. The municipality, which is increasing its investment in the education sector, has also put forward a program to provide accident insurance to more than six thousand five hundred students studying in community schools.