By Our Correspondent

Garuda, Feb. 11 : The number of school-goers in Rautahat has increased significantly after the schools in the district started offering mid-day meals.

The government launched this campaign all over the country with the aim of attracting students to community schools and so far, it has succeeded in bringing children from economically poor families to educational institutions.

Children in Phatuwa Bijayapur Municipality have started going to school daily. Headmaster Subodh Yadav of Saraswati Primary School told The Rising Nepal that the number of students coming to school has increased since it started offering mid-day meals. "The number of students increased from 80 to 130," he said, adding, "The kids used to spend their days playing around. Now, we have been able to bring them to school."

Yadav shared that the school had a schedule and provided different meals on different days. "We give grams and eggs on Sunday, beaten rice with meat on Monday, Roti and curry on Tuesday, pudding on Wednesday, Pulau rice and curry on Thursday and fruits on Friday," he said.

Saraswati Primary School is not the only school that has seen a spike in the number of attending children. A lot of schools in the district have seen a rise in enrolment because of this scheme.

Authorities in Rautahat, which is one of the weakest districts in the nation in the field of education, hope that the scheme would contribute to luring students to schools.