The government has decided to provide for not one but two meals for school-going children now on. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2019, in its latest draft, revealed plans to provide breakfast for pre-primary and primary students in addition to the existing midday meal. The proposal observed that It is well documented that "nutrition plays a very significant role in learning" and added that "too many of our children simply do not receive the nutrition (both quality and quantity) necessary to enable learning". Research, the proposal says, shows that "the hours of the morning after a nutritious breakfast can be particularly productive for the study of subjects that are cognitively more demanding; these hours may be leveraged by providing a simple but energising breakfast in addition to midday meals."
But they do not promise a very sumptuous meal. "Both a nutritious breakfast (e.g. even just some milk and a banana) and a midday meal will be served to pre-primary and primary school students," reads the draft. "This will help make the hours between breakfast and lunch significantly more productive, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Expenditure on the morning and midday meal programmes will be linked to food costs and inflation in order to ensure the quality of food served," it further notes.
The policy was formed by an 11-member team, which was headed by the former ISRO Chairman K Kasturirangan. It was submitted to the new HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Friday, a few hours after he took charge. The committee was constituted in June 2017. The policy that is said to be inspired by India's heritage, presents 'A vision for the education system in India'.
Click Here to Read More Stories Latest Education News.
