Government extends distribution of eggs/bananas to children in pre-primary classes in government schools
With this, a total of 1,98,270 pre-primary students in government schools across the State have become beneficiaries of the scheme. Children who do not consume eggs will be given two bananas every day, on all working days. Earlier, eggs and bananas were being provided to only students of class 1 to class 10 of government and aided schools.
The State government issued an order on June 5 to distribute eggs and bananas as supplementary nutrition to students in collaboration with the Azim Premji Foundation.
Total beneficiaries
Till 2024-25, there were 2,619 pre-primary classes in government schools across the State. In view of the huge demand, they were started in 5,000 more government schools from this academic year at a cost of about ₹70 crore.
The State's School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) has welcomed the government's move to extend egg/banana distribution to pre-primary students. 'Distribution of eggs/bananas is beneficial for the physical and mental development of young children,' said Umesh G. Gangavadi, president of the SDMC.
Last year, groundnut chikkis used to be given to children who did not eat eggs and bananas. However, the government stopped their distribution because the suppliers provided poor quality chikkis.
The State government has earmarked a total of ₹755.62 crore this year for the distribution of eggs/bananas to students from pre-primary classes to class 10. With this, 51,61,390 children — 40,47,461 in government schools and 11,13,929 government-aided schools, will be the beneficiaries of the scheme.
The foundation signed an agreement with the government last year to provide a grant of ₹1,500 crore for three years for the distribution of eggs/bananas as additional nutrition to government school children. Accordingly, this year, the foundation is providing ₹501.68 crore, and the remaining ₹253.94 crore will be borne by the State government.
Emphasis on transparency
To ensure transparency in the scheme, the attendance of all children who are in school at 11 a.m. every day is collected and entered in the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS) portal. The headmaster of schools has been instructed to confirm this information with an e-signature through OTP and submit it to the Commissioner of Public Instruction and other department officials.
Every day, during morning prayer, the headmaster should inform the students about the nutrients and benefits of eggs and bananas. In addition, at least 10 parents should be invited by the headmaster every week randomly to have midday meals with the schoolchildren.
Increase the unit cost
In view of the price rise, there has been a demand from teachers of government schools to increase the unit cost given by the government for eggs/bananas.
'An egg costs around ₹6.50 in the market. And, a medium-sized banana costs at least ₹5. However, the government has fixed a unit cost of just ₹6 for an egg/banana. The government has instructed us to provide two good-quality bananas to children who do not eat eggs. At least ₹10 to ₹12 has to be paid for two bananas. This will create a huge financial burden on teachers. Therefore, the government should increase the unit cost of eggs/bananas,' said the headmaster of a government school in Bengaluru.
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