A total of 15,75,900 students studying in about 31,008 schools from Classes I to V, in the state of Tamil Nadu are about to get benefitted from the Chief Minister's Breakfast scheme.
The government had announced the extension of the morning breakfast scheme to all primary schools in its last budget, it has now allocated Rs 404.4 crores for its implementation through the government order of the social welfare department dated June 7, as per the reports of The New Indian Express.
The implementation of the scheme will be carried out in 358 schools by the Chennai Corporation. Additionally, the Tamil Nadu Women Development Corporation will be responsible for implementing the scheme in 28,397 schools located in rural areas. The allocated funds will be utilised from July 15 to March 2023, at the cost of Rs 12.71 per child per day.
The breakfast order was initially introduced in more than 1,500 schools, benefiting 1,14,095 primary school children, with an expenditure of Rs 33.56 crores. Additionally, 433 schools were also included in the scheme under the same academic year.
According to sources, the government's scheme has positively impacted the students' attendance and also their academic performance, and hence, in accordance with the scheme, Rs 340.5 crore has been allocated for food expenses for 170 days, Rs 43.38 crore for the procurement of cooking utensils, and Rs 19.96 crore for cooking gas connections, with the remaining amount allocated for administrative purposes.
In urban areas and nearby town panchayats, food will be prepared in integrated cooking centres, while in other locations, it will be cooked in the schools.
Each student will also receive 150-200 grams of food, accompanied by 100 ml of sambar with vegetables. A healthy diet of locally available millet will also be included in the menu twice a week.
