Breakfast scheme in schools

IN NEWS:

• Tamil Nadu launched the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme for students of Class I to V in government schools.

FEATURES OF THE SCHEME:

• The breakfast scheme will be implemented at a cost of Rs 33.56 crore in more than 1,500 government-run schools across the state from Monday to Friday.
• It is expected to cost Rs 12.75 per student and benefit a total of 1.14 lakh students in classes 1 to 5 in government schools.
• The government has targeted providing schoolchildren an average of 293 calories and an average protein input of 9.85 gm per day. Students will be served different varieties of upma, kichadi, pongal, and on Fridays, rava kesari or semiya kesari will be provided.
• This scheme takes forward the universal mid-day meal scheme that the state pioneered in 1983.

SIGNIFICANCE OF BREAKFAST SCHEME:

• Address classroom hunger:
  • The breakfast and mid-day meal scheme together will supply about 846 calories and nearly 28 gm of protein a day to a child. This will help ensure hunger-free classrooms and thereby better learning outcomes.
• Reduce malnutrition:
  • According to Lancet, about 68% of the deaths of children under five years in India can be attributed to malnutrition. At 17.3 percent, India has the highest child wasting rate of all countries covered in the Global Hunger Index.
  • Extra read: Malnutrition in India and Global Hunger Index https://www.ilearncana.com/details/INDIA%E2%80%99S-MALNUTRITION-AND-GLOBAL-HUNGER-INDEX/2638
• Increase enrollment levels:
  • Assurance of food in schools encourage parents, especially those with poor socio-economic background, to send their children to school.
  • Eg: After the introduction of the mid-day meal scheme in 1982 in Tamil Nadu, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) at primary level went up by 10% during July-September, 1982 as compared to the corresponding period in 1981.
• Improve educational outcomes:
  • A government survey had found that over 25% students attend school without having breakfast. Ensuring regular breakfast at schools confers positive outcomes on students, affecting their ability to focus, learn and retain information positively.
• Overcome the impact of Covid:
  • The pandemic years have led to a marked decline in learning and nutritional outcomes among the children. To overcome these, innovative efforts like breakfast schemes are essential.
• Responsibility of the state:
  • The States have a responsibility to promote welfare and minimise inequalities in income as well as in facilities and opportunities among individuals and groups (Article 38).
• Combat child labour:
  • Meals in schools help retain the children at schools and thereby reduce the supply of child labour.
• Socialisation:
  • The experience of sharing a common meal helps erode caste prejudices and class inequities.

CHALLENGES:

Critics have argued that the scheme can face issues similar to that of the Midday meal scheme. These can include:

• Poor quality of food:
  • Many instances of poor-quality food being served has been reported. For eg: Instances of plain chapatis being served with salt and food poisoning etc.
• Corruption:
  • Diversion of funds and pilferage of items supplied under the scheme continues to be an issue.
  • For instance, shortfall of 4-5 kg of grains in each gunny bag of 50 kg capacity was recently reported from schools in Odisha.
• Cultural factors:
  • Dietary choices in such schemes often face criticism due to religious and caste rigidities. Eg: Many states have been reluctant about adding eggs to the school lunch menu.
  • There are also instances where children were made to sit separately according to their caste status.
• Delays in sanctioning funds:
  • Due to delays in payment, teachers have been spending from their own pockets or buying rations on credit to feed the children.
  • The cooks and helpers are classified as honorary workers and are not considered workers. Consequently, the legislations on minimum wages are not applied to them. As a result, most mid-day meal cooks paid under Rs 2000/month.

CONCLUSION:

Breakfast Schemes in schools have been implemented in many states of United States of America by the Department of Agriculture. Such schemes have been introduced in European countries, particularly in France three years ago. Studies here suggest that free breakfast schemes could help increase educational outcomes through a likely increase in school attendance and improved concentration on studies.

Since the breakfast scheme is introduced as a first-of-its-kind scheme, it is relevant to look at how T.N. fares. However, the government, rich with its experience of dealing with the mid-day meal scheme over several decades, must avoid the errors that have been hurdles in its path earlier.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Analyse the potential of breakfast scheme in schools in addressing malnutrition and improving educational outcomes in India?