CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin will inaugurate the extension of the free breakfast scheme to 2,430 government-aided schools on Tuesday. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has been invited to take part in the event through DMK MP P Wilson, Stalin said in a letter to party cadres on Sunday.
Reiterating the objective of the scheme, Stalin said, the government's aim is to ensure that no child attended classes on an empty stomach. “Instead of waiting until noon, children must begin their day of learning with a healthy breakfast before their noon meal,” he said.
The CM noted that during his school inspections, he had monitored the food, assessed its quality and interacted with students. “Since the results were encouraging, the DMK government has decided to expand the scheme further,” he said.
Stalin added that despite Tamil Nadu’s considerable economic growth, many families were still unable to provide breakfast for their children before sending them to school. The scheme, he stressed, was designed to bridge this gap.
Recalling the initiative’s historical roots, Stalin said it was under Pitty Theagaraya Chetty of the Justice Party that a resolution was passed in the Madras Legislative Council in 1920, leading to the introduction of the noon meal scheme at the Thousand Lights Corporation School.