HYDERABAD: Starting this Friday, approximately 20 lakh students in Telangana will receive a daily breakfast consisting of poha, uggani, millet idli or vegetable pulao. Along with Health and Finance Minister T Harish Rao, Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy will inaugurate the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme at Zilla Parishad High School in Raviryala of Rangareddy district on Friday. MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao will also launch it at the Government Practising Primary School in Lashkar Bazar, Hanamkonda.
The scheme aims to combat classroom hunger and encourage regular school attendance. It will be closely monitored through a mobile app. The State government has allocated Rs 672 crore for this programme, which will be implemented in 27,147 government schools. The initiative targets more than 23 lakh students in Classes 1 to 10 across government schools. Students will be served a hot breakfast on their tables approximately 45 minutes before school starts.
Sabitha shared the plans to expand the scheme to other schools after the Dasara holidays. Schools are also receiving enhanced facilities to ensure the scheme’s success. Monitoring responsibilities are assigned to municipal commissioners in urban areas and additional district collectors in rural regions. The Education, Panchayat Raj, Women and Child Welfare departments will work collectively to implement the scheme, she said, adding that regular inspections by food inspectors and other officials will ensure that the quality of breakfast is maintained.
Sabitha said that while the mid-day meal scheme covers students from Classes 1 to 8 across the nation, the State government extends this benefit to students of Class 9 and 10 as well, incurring an extra cost of Rs 137 crore. Copper jaggery is provided at a cost of Rs 32 crore to ensure that government school students receive food rich in iron and micronutrients.
How it will be monitored: