The government’s decision to provide bananas as an alternative to schoolchildren who do not eat eggs received criticism on Thursday, with many noting that the fruit doesn’t have the necessary nutrition.
On Wednesday, the department of public instruction issued a circular asking all government and aided schools in seven districts of the Kalyana Karnataka (KK) region to provide boiled eggs and bananas for children in classes 1 to 8, from December 1 to March 30 2022.
The measure is to fight malnourishment and anaemia among children in the Kalyana Karnataka region.
Providing eggs to children was one of the long-pending demands by various organisations.
The circular issued by the department on Wednesday reads that Bidar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Koppal, Ballari and Vijayapura districts will provide eggs for children studying in class 1 to 8 in government and aided schools.
However, many people took to Twitter and posted charts comparing the nutrition in egg and bananas to highlight the ‘flawed approach’.
Some suggested the department of public instruction go for paneer or soya and other sources, instead of bananas as they don’t have proteins and fats on a par with eggs.
A few nutritionists on Twitter mentioned that the difference in protein level is high between bananas and eggs, where a single egg has 6 gram protein and a single banana provides 1 gram of protein. Some said the scheme should be extended to students across Karnataka.
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