Tamil Nadu expands free breakfast scheme to 1.5 million more students

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has expanded its free school breakfast programme to students in Classes 6 to 8, bringing another 1.53 million children under a scheme that will now provide morning meals to nearly 3.5 million students across the state.

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay launched the expanded Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme at Gandhi Gramam Middle School in Chennai’s Thiruvanmiyur on Tuesday, serving pongal, sambar and a sweet to students before sitting down to eat with them.

The expansion takes the programme beyond primary schoolchildren for the first time, extending free breakfasts to middle-school students in government and government-aided schools.

With the latest addition, about 3.46 million students from Classes 1 to 8 in 44,984 schools will be covered by the programme, according to government figures.

The state has allocated an additional Rs2.17 billion for the expansion in the current financial year, taking the total allocation for the breakfast programme to about Rs7.24 billion.

Vijay serves breakfast to students

At Tuesday’s launch, Vijay interacted with children, served them breakfast and later joined them for the meal. He also visited classrooms and spoke to students.

A total of 217 students ate breakfast at the school during the launch, the Times of India reported.

“The CM asked me my name and my section, enquired about my studies. He also waited patiently to talk to me till I finished my prayer before eating,” Class 7 student S. Tharshini told the newspaper.

The expansion covers students in Classes 6, 7 and 8 at 15,454 government and government-aided schools.

The programme will be rolled out across Tamil Nadu except in Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts, where the Model Code of Conduct is in force because of Assembly by-elections in Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies.

Scheme began in 2022

The breakfast programme was introduced in 2022 by the previous government headed by M.K. Stalin, initially for students in Classes 1 to 5 at government schools. It was subsequently extended to government-aided schools.

Before Tuesday’s expansion, around 1.93 million children in 37,447 government and aided schools were receiving breakfast under the programme, according to IANS.

After the TVK government came to power, the initiative was renamed the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme in honour of former Tamil Nadu chief minister K. Kamaraj, whose tenure was closely associated with expanding school education in the state.

The government says the programme is intended to tackle classroom hunger and improve children’s nutrition, while also encouraging school attendance and helping students concentrate on their studies.

Under the prescribed weekly menu cited by IANS, students will receive upma on Mondays, khichdi on Tuesdays, pongal on Wednesdays and upma on Thursdays, with a sweet dish served on Fridays. Authorities have been instructed to ensure that meals are prepared hygienically and served on time.

Tuesday’s launch had originally been scheduled for September 17, the birth anniversary of social reformer Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, but was postponed because Vijay was in London on a visit aimed at attracting investment to Tamil Nadu.

- With inputs from IANS and ANI