<p>Notwithstanding the debate over schoolchildren eating eggs under the mid-day meals scheme, a remote village in Chikkamagaluru district has taken a stand.</p>.<p>Villagers in Bogase, 45 km from the Chikkamagaluru district headquarters, are paying from their pockets to procure eggs for class 9 and 10 students.</p>.<p>Under the mid-day meals scheme, the government provides funds only till class 8 to serve eggs.</p>.<p>This academic year, the Department of School Education and Literacy issued an order to include boiled eggs in the mid-day meals scheme and extended it to all the districts. The School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) at the Government High School in Bogase convened a meeting and decided to approach the villagers to extend the scheme covering 9th and 10th graders.</p>.<p>"All the three grades - 8, 9 and 10 - function in the same school building. We did not want to differentiate between the children while serving food," SDMC chairperson Prabhakara told DH.</p>.<p>"The teachers and staff in the school were unhappy to deny eggs to Class 9 and 10 students as the scheme covers only up to Class 8. Then we had a meeting with the villagers who could afford, and a majority of them agreed to pay. We have been buying eggs from the money donated by villagers," Prabhakara explained.</p>.<p>There are 80 students in Grades 8-10 at the Bogase Government High School. Of them, 55 are in Class 9-10. School head master Sathyanarayana said they need Rs 600 per day to provide boiled eggs for students of grades 9 and 10. "We started providing eggs to grades 9 and 10 from July 26 and till date, it is going on smoothly. We have money donated from the villagers, which will be sufficient for the next two months," he said.</p>.<p>Sathyanarayana said even teachers and staff have decided to chip in for one month. "The scheme will be on till February and we will coordinate with the SDMC to hold another meeting with the villagers," he said. </p>.<p>This village has 80 households. The Bogase school has children admitted from six nearby villages.</p>.<p>It can be recalled that a proposal submitted by the Department of School Education and Literacy to extend eggs till Class 10 was turned down by the Finance department, citing shortage of funds.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the debate over schoolchildren eating eggs under the mid-day meals scheme, a remote village in Chikkamagaluru district has taken a stand.</p>.<p>Villagers in Bogase, 45 km from the Chikkamagaluru district headquarters, are paying from their pockets to procure eggs for class 9 and 10 students.</p>.<p>Under the mid-day meals scheme, the government provides funds only till class 8 to serve eggs.</p>.<p>This academic year, the Department of School Education and Literacy issued an order to include boiled eggs in the mid-day meals scheme and extended it to all the districts. The School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) at the Government High School in Bogase convened a meeting and decided to approach the villagers to extend the scheme covering 9th and 10th graders.</p>.<p>"All the three grades - 8, 9 and 10 - function in the same school building. We did not want to differentiate between the children while serving food," SDMC chairperson Prabhakara told DH.</p>.<p>"The teachers and staff in the school were unhappy to deny eggs to Class 9 and 10 students as the scheme covers only up to Class 8. Then we had a meeting with the villagers who could afford, and a majority of them agreed to pay. We have been buying eggs from the money donated by villagers," Prabhakara explained.</p>.<p>There are 80 students in Grades 8-10 at the Bogase Government High School. Of them, 55 are in Class 9-10. School head master Sathyanarayana said they need Rs 600 per day to provide boiled eggs for students of grades 9 and 10. "We started providing eggs to grades 9 and 10 from July 26 and till date, it is going on smoothly. We have money donated from the villagers, which will be sufficient for the next two months," he said.</p>.<p>Sathyanarayana said even teachers and staff have decided to chip in for one month. "The scheme will be on till February and we will coordinate with the SDMC to hold another meeting with the villagers," he said. </p>.<p>This village has 80 households. The Bogase school has children admitted from six nearby villages.</p>.<p>It can be recalled that a proposal submitted by the Department of School Education and Literacy to extend eggs till Class 10 was turned down by the Finance department, citing shortage of funds.</p>
