Breakfast scheme is an investment in children’s future: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin

Extending the Breakfast scheme to all 31,008 primary schools in Tamil Nadu benefitting 17 lakh students, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday termed the fund allocation for the ambitious scheme as an “investment in children’s future” that would help the state in capacity building. 

Stalin launched the second phase of the Chief Minister’s Breakfast scheme at a government school in Thirukuvalai, where his late father and former CM M Karunanidhi did his primary schooling, in Nagapattinam district. He also dined with the primary school students and interacted with them. 

The scheme was launched as a pilot in 2022 in 1,545 schools providing breakfast to 1.14 lakh children and is now being extended to cover all 31,008 schools across the state. In all, 17 lakh primary school students will be provided breakfast on all working days. 

In his speech, Stalin said the scheme was conceived after students at an event told him that they didn’t have breakfast as their mothers don’t cook in the morning to ensure that they go to work on time. “One student told me that her mother told her to have mid-day meals at school, while another told me she drinks only tea in the morning. Keeping this in mind, I asked officials to conceive the breakfast scheme,” the Chief Minister added.

“I don’t consider this as a fund allotment but as an investment in the future of our children,” Stalin said, recollecting how the mid-day meals scheme came into existence in Tamil Nadu.

While ensuring that students don’t come to school with an empty stomach, the scheme also helps increase attendance and retention, prevent malnutrition, and achieve average height in children, prevent underweight and anaemia in adolescents, Stalin added.

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.

A 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. 

“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 had said.

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. 

"The Tamil Nadu government has invested to enhance students' minds and knowledge. This would definitely manifest in the form of talent and capacity-building which will profit the state," CM Stalin said.