In mid-September, Tamil Nadu will launch an ambitious scheme to provide free breakfast for government school students from class one to five, which is an extension of the mid-day meals scheme pioneered in the state in the 1920s, aimed at tackling nutrition deficiency among children.
The scheme, for which Rs 34 crore has been sanctioned in the first phase, is likely to be launched by Chief Minister M K Stalin on September 15, the birth anniversary of DMK founder and Dravidian stalwart C N Annadurai. In the first phase, as many as 1.14 lakh children in over 1,500 schools run by the government in cities, towns, villages, and far-flung areas will be served hot breakfast before they begin to attend classes in the morning.
The government has asked district administrations to make necessary arrangements to cook breakfast in community kitchens or inside school premises and get them ready by 7:30 am. The food will have to be served to students by 8:30 am so that the classes can begin on time.
According to the menu prepared by the government, students will be served upma, kichadi, or pongal from Monday to Friday, while rava kesari or semiya kesari will be added to the food menu on Friday. Millets will also be part of the menu for at least two days a week.
“The food will be served hot and necessary instructions have been given to authorities concerned to ensure that there are no complaints,” a senior government official told DH, adding that district collectors have been asked to constitute committees to oversee the implementation of the scheme.
The scheme was announced by Stalin on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly on May 7 coinciding with the first anniversary of his government. The official said the scheme was conceived after the government received several complaints about students in many places coming to schools without having their breakfast.
“The scheme will not just allow students from class one to five to have breakfast but also ensure their attendance besides reducing the burden of making food on working mothers, especially in rural areas. This scheme will be gradually expanded to all government schools across the state,” the official added.
The first phase of the scheme will be implemented in 1,545 schools benefitting 1.14 lakh children. 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.
The official also said the authorities have been told to ensure that the food is served to students only after it is tasted by members of the management committee of the school or authorised persons.
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.
The free breakfast scheme is an extension of the mid-day meals scheme which was bettered by successive post-Independence state governments led by K Kamaraj, M Karunanidhi, M G Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa.
While Kamaraj extended the mid-day meals scheme from Chennai to the rest of the state, MGR expanded it further by providing nutritious meals to children between 2-9 years old. 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.