BENGALURU: Government school teachers in the state say that they have been forced to spend money from their pockets to provide eggs to children as part of midday meals without any assurance of reimbursement.
Speaking to TNIE, he said, “There are 560 children in our school and at least 400 of them choose to eat eggs and the rest of them banana. Sometimes, those who have preferred have banana too ask for eggs but we can’t stop them from doing so. The government has been providing us Rs 6 per egg, of which Rs 5 is given for an egg, 20 paise for transportation charges, 30 paise for midday meals workers who remove the shell and 50 paise for boiling. However, the prices of eggs have never been Rs 5. Currently, I have bought eggs for Rs 7.50.”
He added, “This year, I have spent Rs 60,000 extra from my salary and there is no guarantee that it will be reimbursed. Earlier, it was instructed to provide eggs three times in a week however, now we are instructed to give it every day. Similarly, we are given Rs 6 to purchase bananas and depending on the price in the market, we provide two bananas or one banana to the student. Currently, it is Rs 80 for one kg Yelakki banana.”
Meanwhile, another teacher from Government High School in Nada village in Dakshina Kannada said, “In my school, there are 120 children and all consume eggs in the midday meals and no students take bananas. Therefore, the cost we incurred this year is approximately Rs 18,000 extra from our pockets. We have brought this to the notice of education department officials and also the delegates who come from Azim Premji University for inspection of midday meals. However, we are told that the budget is already allocated for it and this cannot be increased now. Both the central as well as state governments must work together to increase the amount provided to eggs to schools.”
In August 2024, the Azim Premji Foundation signed an agreement with the state government to support the midday meal programme. They have allocated a separate amount of Rs 1,500 crore for three years to provide eggs to government schools from LKG to Class 10.
Vikas Kishore Suralkar, Education Commissioner, Department of School Education and Literacy, said, “Teachers spending extra from their pockets might not be factually correct. However, the department is discussing to revise the rates according to the current market rate of eggs or bananas. Once it is revised, funds may be allocated for the same.”