The field notes series seeks to document the implementation of accountability mechanisms built into key government programs for service delivery. Between 10.30 am and 12.30 pm every day, headmasters of government-run elementary schools in Uttar Pradesh receive an automated phone call from state headquarters asking them to report on the number of mid-day meals served to school children. In response, headmasters punch in the appropriate number. This data is then uploaded into a software program that generates daily monitoring reports, allowing senior officers to monitor the program, in real time, across the state
This is Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) effort at introducing a technology-driven method to monitor the Mid-Day Meal scheme. Launched in July 2010, this method uses a technology known as Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) to create a real time database on the number of mid-day meals served in UP’s schools. The current note assesses the perceived benefits of an IVRS based daily monitoring of Mid-Day Meals scheme in Uttar Pradesh and examines perceptions of various stakeholders towards it
