In a video going viral on social media, students of a primary school, Hullpur, in Madhya Pradesh, were seen eating mid-day meal served on paper sheets. The video has drawn criticism, with netizens questioning the status of education, the existence of disparity in schools, and the negligence by the education department. People are questioning the ruling BJP government’s efficiency due to the apathy and lack of attention towards government schools.

One user asked on social media X, “Is this how human children are fed? Is this the development you people are talking about? How many more engines of government do you need? This is an extremely heartbreaking and shocking video for anyone!! Humanity must prevail!!”.

Mid-day meals in Northern states are an absolute sham. Lacks basic nutrition and hygiene. Here at a government school in Madhya Pradesh, scrap doubles up as a plate for the meals served to students. pic.twitter.com/GOLB3pveY7

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) November 7, 2025

While another user said, “Sad state of affairs. At least some educated staff, if any, in such a situation can ask children to bring their own plates. If they have a problem buying, maintaining (washing) and storing it. Ideally, cutlery & clean corridor is a basic req, now I have doubts about the standard of food served”.

Read also: Mid-Day Meal: A Look At Indian States And Their Policies Over Eggs

Notably, Midday Meal Scheme or PM-Poshan Shakti Nirman is a mandatory but free school meal program in India designed to enhance the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide.

The central government provides the majority of the funding under the mid-day meal program, sharing costs with states, with the central share being 60% and the state’s being 40% for most of the program’s costs.

As per the Digital Sansad report, the central government’s allocation for the mid-day meal program was Rs 12,900 crore for 2020-21, and this has increased to Rs 12,800 crore for 2022-23.