Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that the state's flagship breakfast scheme would be expanded to cover students of classes VI to VII, starting from the birth anniversary of Periyar celebrated on September 17.
Expansion Details
Vijay directed officials to take steps to launch the first phase of the expansion on September 17, extending the scheme beyond its present coverage of primary school students. The move is expected to benefit lakhs of middle school students studying in government schools across Tamil Nadu.
Background of the Scheme
The chief minister's breakfast scheme was launched in 2022 to provide nutritious morning meals to government schoolchildren, aiming to improve attendance, classroom participation, and learning outcomes. The programme was later expanded in phases and has been widely cited as a model welfare initiative addressing classroom hunger among children from economically disadvantaged families.
The decision to widen its coverage was announced after a review meeting of the Social Welfare and Women's Rights Department at the secretariat, where officials reviewed various welfare programmes for children, women, and senior citizens. The state government said the expansion would help ensure that more students receive nutritious meals and continue their education without hunger affecting learning outcomes.
