The Telangana government has recently introduced a new welfare initiative known as the “Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme” for students attending government schools. Many students enrolled in government schools come from poor and middle class backgrounds. The primary aim of this program is to ensure that students arrive at school with nourished stomachs, thereby enabling them to focus better on their studies. Furthermore, the government anticipates that this program will significantly reduce the number of school dropouts. Notably, Telangana is the country’s second state, following Tamil Nadu, to implement such a breakfast scheme for school students.
Breakfast for 20 lakh students
The CM Breakfast Scheme will be implemented in 27,147 schools across the state. Students from class 1 to class 10 will be provided breakfast in schools through this scheme. A total of 20 lakh students will receive breakfast through this scheme. The government will allocate Rs. 400 crores per year for this program. Each day, students will be offered a different breakfast as part of this scheme. On Mondays, they can have idli sambar or wheat rava upma, Tuesdays puri, alu kurma, or tomato bath with chutney, Wednesdays will offer upma sambar or kichidi with chutney. Thursdays will include Millet Idli, sambar or Pongal. Fridays will provide Uggani/Poha/Millet Idli, or Wheat Rava Kichidi. On Saturdays Pongal, sambar or Vegetable Pulao with Raita, and Aalu Kurma will be served to students in breakfast. Breakfast will be served 45 minutes before the start of classes in the school. This breakfast will be served along with ragi malt which is currently being served to students in government schools.
Scheme adopted from Tamilnadu and improved upon
Speaking at a recent public meeting, CM Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) announced his plans to introduce a breakfast scheme in schools. He stated that a delegation from Telangana had been sent to Tamil Nadu to study their existing breakfast scheme. The team studied the implementation of the breakfast scheme there and provided necessary suggestions for its implementation in Telangana, according to KCR. In Tamil Nadu, breakfast is currently only provided to students in classes 1 to 5. However, KCR stated that they will be extending the breakfast scheme to include students in classes 1 to 10 in Telangana. Just a few days after KCR’s comments, the breakfast scheme came into implementation.
KTR appeals to the officials to regularly check food quality
The CM Breakfast scheme was formally launched by local public representatives in all the districts across Telangana. As part of this initiative, Minister KTR visited a government school in West Maredpally, Hyderabad. After launching the breakfast scheme, the minister had breakfast with the students and interacted with them for a while. During this interaction, KTR mentioned that he had spoken to a girl in the school, who revealed that both her parents work in tailoring. The minister expressed that the breakfast scheme is a big relief for parents who are occupied with work throughout the day, as they no longer have to wake up early in the morning to prepare breakfast. KTR emphasized the importance of genuine interest in the implementation of the scheme, urging leaders not to just pose for photos, but to inquire about its effectiveness whenever they visit government schools. He requested leaders to engage with students and ensure that the scheme is being properly executed, bringing any issues to his attention. KTR also urged authorities to regularly check the quality of food and encouraged teachers to assist in this monitoring process.
Never say Housewife. Amma runs all of you. Amma is actually the reason why you all are doing good. Don’t say she doesn’t do anything. She is a homemaker – Minister KTR schooling kids after launching Chief Minister’s breakfast scheme pic.twitter.com/z1iVNRc2tg
— Naveena (@TheNaveena) October 6, 2023
Launched by Ministers Sabitha and Harish
The “Chief Mnister’s Breakfast scheme” was launched by Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and Finance Minister Harish Rao at a government school in Raviryala mandal of Rangareddy district. Minister Sabita Indra Reddy spoke about her visit to a government school the day before the launch, where she interacted with students. She discovered that out of the 10 students she spoke to, only 2 had breakfast before coming to school, while the rest settled for tea. Minister Sabita Indra Reddy stated that the ‘CM’s breakfast scheme’ would greatly benefit such children and praised Chief Minister KCR for his excellent idea. It has been reported that KCR has instructed authorities to provide high-quality breakfast to students as part of the scheme, as opposed to a nominal offering. Additionally, she mentioned that the state of Telangana is the sole provider of ragi malt to its students among all the states in the country.
Another minister, Harish Rao, stated that any new scheme introduced by the Chief Minister will have a humanitarian element to it. He emphasized that the government under the BRs administration is focused on humanitarian causes. He highlighted the significance of the ‘CM Breakfast Scheme’ in reducing school dropouts and preventing anemia, particularly among girls. Rao mentioned that unlike other states, where students in classes 9 and 10 are not provided with mid-day meals, Telangana ensures that even these students receive mid-day meals with the state government’s funds. He further added that the ‘CM Breakfast Scheme’ also holds relief for parents.
