Chief Minister MK Stalin led Tamil Nadu government’s decision to provide breakfast in government primary schools has led to an increase in attendance in the majority of schools it was introduced in, according to a survey by the State Planning Commission.
Reportedly, in 5 months since scheme was introduced among 1,543 schools out of which 1,319 schools recorded an increase in attendance.
The report looked at the attendance levels of students between January and February 2023 and compared it to the attendance of students over the same period in 2022.Prior to the scheme, government schools across Tamil Nadu, like the rest of India, only provided mid-day meals through the PM Poshan scheme.
Tamil Nadu was also the first state to introduce mid-day meals.
Earlier a proposal in the New Education Policy of the Narendra Modi government to introduce breakfast besides mid-day meals in schools, remained a non-starter after the Ministry of Finance baulked at the estimated cost of around Rs 4,000 crore.
Now the Stalin government is making it as a great endorsement , which has projected its “Dravidian model” as superior to the Centre.
The DMK-led government brought up the plan based on its finding that many children come to schools without any food in the morning, either due to strained circumstances, or working parents who did not find the time to cook, or the long distance they had to cover to reach school on time.
