Nearly 90 per cent of the schools, where the novel breakfast scheme under which children from class one to five are provided with nutritious food is currently under implementation, have shown improvement in attendance of students, a study by the Tamil Nadu government has said.
The study conducted by the State Planning Commission found that 1,319 out of 1,543 schools where children are provided with breakfast since September 15, 2022 have shown an increase in attendance in the months of January and February when compared to June-July last year.
The base attendance data of 1,543 beneficiary schools was compared against that of neighbouring schools within 1-2 km by considering the geographical coordinates of the schools. The study considered only schools with enrolment of 25 and above & schools with consistent attendance reporting above 75 per cent. This left the study with 72 beneficiary schools each mapped with at least two to 15 neighbouring schools, which took the total to 414.
“Beneficiary schools show consistent increase in attendance when compared to the neighbouring schools. Out of 414 schools, 258 neighbouring schools displayed a positive change as compared to 366 beneficiary schools; with none of the neighbouring schools having more than 20 per cent increase in attendance,” the report said.
Viewed as an extension of the mid-day meals, which is now replicated across India and abroad, the Chief Minister’s Free Breakfast Scheme is aimed at tackling nutrition deficiency among children and ensuring their attendance in schools. The government now plans to extend the scheme across the state.
Chief Minister M K Stalin took to Twitter to laud the scheme, saying education is the quest for the Dravidian model of governance. Lauding the report, Finance Minister P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said children are the state’s future and that their well-being is foundational to social justice.
“Immensely pleased by the impact-report on CM @mkstalin's Breakfast Scheme, first launched in Madurai. Shows 85 per cent of the schools covered have increased attendance; every district has registered positive impact,” he wrote on his verified Twitter page.
In the first phase, the scheme is benefitting as many as 1.14 lakh children in 1,545 government-run schools in cities, towns, villages and far-flung areas. Of the 1,545 schools, 417 are in cities, 163 are in towns/district headquarters, 728 in rural areas and 237 in far-flung/hilly areas.
Spending Rs 12.75 for a child to provide breakfast – the menu ranges from rava upma to Pongal to semiya upma to kesari – the scheme is not just aimed at taking care of the nutritional needs of school-going children but also ensures daily attendance of students. Millets available in the area will also be part of the menu for at least two days a week.
Tamil Nadu has had a long history of providing food to students at schools -- the mid-day meals scheme, which is now being implemented across the country, was first conceived by the Justice Party dispensation which provided free meals to school children in government schools in Chennai. However, the then British regime stopped a few years later citing lack of resources.
The scheme was then relaunched by Congress Chief Minister K Kamaraj in 1957 and expanded it to the entire state. Then came M G Ramachandran who expanded it further by providing nutritious meals to children between 2 to 9 years old. M Karunanidhi added eggs on all days to the menu and bananas for children who don’t eat eggs, while Jayalalithaa introduced a variety of rice.