I CAN “A DESIGN FOR CHANGE”

An organized canteen break21st September, 10:00 A.M

“Our ‘Break” is on. We are in the canteen. As usual, the canteen is in total chaos. Everyone is out to push their way in.

As the canteen boys try to please everybody, they find themselves completely lost. Their orders get mixed up, they serve the wrong items for the wrong pennies and it generates a confused and irritated lot. In all the confusion and chaos, food is spilled, wrappers and food packs are left here and there, thus leaving the canteen quite dirty.

In these circumstances, I somehow manage to make my way through the crowd and reach the canteen counter but alas! By that time the “BREAK” is over. TRIINNGG………………………… went the bell and I like many others had to make our way back to the classes, with an empty stomach and an irritated mind.

FEEL: We observed that the canteen cannot accumulate too many students at a time. The entire process of having food in the canteen is too time consuming and leaves the place quite dirty and in a mess. The canteen staff also appears to have a lot of difficulties in managing the entire system. Inspite of our school having the system of class wise fixed canteen days there is still a lot of chaos.

IMAGINE: We imagined that if there are a minimum number of students in the canteen on any particular day it will make the task of the canteen staff more manageable and help them ensure food

availability to each and every student visiting the canteen. The canteen will not be a Piccadilly circus but an orderly place all the time, when we go to the canteen.

DO: We discussed with our principal and asked her to issue a notice to all students giving their class wise schedule for canteen visits to ensure that, students who don’t have canteen period on that day are not present in the canteen.

We also discussed with the canteen in-charge so that he can give us one canteen staff that would be placed at the entrance to check the identity cards of the students.

Two separate dustbins, one biodegradable and the other non-biodegradable were placed. The biodegradable waste would be used as manure in the school gardens. Separate menu wise (food items) counters were made and the traffic of the students regulated into queues.

Class teachers appointed two monitors per class to make sure that no mess was created by any student and that all were lined up as directed. Apart from the monitors one helper was made available to make things right.

For this system of improvement, only manpower resource in placement of one Canteen staff at the entrance and two monitors from each class were needed and thanks to this programme we realized the fact that in order to bring a change we need to be that change.

Participants:-

Dristanta

Roktim

Ragini

Surya

Shreshth

Atlanta

Ashmita

Ridhwan

Bornil

Rahul