UP: Students at Ballia school bring own plates for mid-day meals

Ballia (Uttar Pradesh): Some students at a primary school in Rampur were found to bring plates from their home for mid-day meals and eat separately from those belonging to the SC, ST, and Dalit communities.

According to one student from the school, "Anyone can eat in the plates available in schools, so we bring separate plates from home."

P Gupta, Principal of Rampur primary school said that the practice prevails despite school authorities asking students not to do so.

"We ask students to sit together and eat but they go their separate ways as soon as we leave. Maybe they have learnt it from home. We have tried a lot to teach them that they are all equals, but students from the upper caste try to stay away from those from the lower caste.