Hyderabad: The State Government’s phased launch of its ambitious free breakfast, milk, and ragi java programme in government schools and junior colleges from Monday has triggered widespread concern among parents and teachers. Many question why several other eligible schools have been excluded from the initial phase, fearing the move could derail the ongoing student enrolment drive (Badi Bata).
While the government previously indicated the scheme would roll out across all 26,141 schools, official Education Department data reveals that the initial phase will cover only 1,269 schools (serving 1.30 lakh students) and 33 junior colleges (catering to over 14,000 Intermediate students). Hyderabad district accounts for 107 schools under the Mana Trust initiative, while districts like Vikarabad, Warangal, Sangareddy, and Narayanpet will be covered via the Hare Krishna Movement (HKM).
Sources familiar with the matter stated that a lack of centralised kitchens in several regions forced the government into a phased rollout.
However, stakeholders remain unimpressed."The real question is why the government is not launching the scheme at all schools at once," said M Ravinder, a mathematics teacher at the Nallakunta Government School. "The previous administration was criticised for selective welfare implementation. We expected a different approach from the current government, but this partial rollout may hurt our enrollment efforts," he added.
S Anitha, a teacher in Medchal district, noted that the disparity hurts the state's ongoing admissions campaign. "During our door-to-door enrollment drives, we heavily publicised the breakfast scheme. Now that it is restricted to a few schools, parents feel misled, which directly influences their admission decisions."
Parents noted that all government school children should benefit from the scheme from day one, adding that leaving some schools out makes them feel their children are being treated differently.
Defending the strategy, a senior School Education Department official speaking on the condition of anonymity stated that the phase-one launch across 1,302 institutions will still provide a nutritious breakfast six days a week to 1,44,610 students.
"The programme will expand systematically across the state as our network of centralised kitchens grows, creating a permanent nutritional backbone for Telangana's public education system," the official said.
The finalised menu features millet idli, dosa, puri with kurma, bonda, and upma, supplemented by milk three days a week and ragi java on the other three days to ensure consistent delivery of protein and calcium.
