Madurai: The issue of vacant staff positions in over 60,000 nutrition centers in Tamil Nadu's government schools has sparked controversy, as many centers are being managed by a single employee.

The state's mid-day meal scheme, which serves students from Class 1 to Class 10, operates across 43,000 nutrition centers. Each center is expected to have an organizer, a cook, and an assistant.

However, more than 60,000 staff positions remain unfilled, with nearly 90% of the centers lacking assistant posts.

In several locations, one cook manages meals for three to four centers, while a single nutritionist oversees up to seven centers, leading to excessive workloads and increasing stress.

Noor Jahan, the State General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Nutrition Employees Union, highlighted the lack of staff appointments since 2017. While 1.25 lakh positions were initially filled, only 65,000 employees remain. Despite years of protests, over 60,000 vacancies are yet to be filled.

Recently, the government announced the filling of 8,997 positions on a lump sum basis with a salary of Rs. 3,000, which has caused further dissatisfaction among existing employees. Many workers are advocating for a shift to periodic salaries, and the union continues its struggle for better working conditions.

Noor Jahan called on the Tamil Nadu government to address the staffing crisis and find a sustainable solution to alleviate the strain on current employees.