Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme - Part 2

(இதன் தமிழ் வடிவத்திற்கு இங்கே சொடுக்கவும்)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme

Beneficiaries of the programme

• As of now, there are nearly 7 lakh beneficiaries spread over 43,190 nutritious meal Centres.
• This includes around 3,500 students of National Child Labour Project (NCLP) special schools.
• Besides, as a consequence of the collaborative implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), around 15.8 lakh children in the age group of 2+ to 5+ years under the nutritious meal programme receive nutritious meals.

Tamil Nadu Breakfast Scheme Menu

Importance of the breakfast scheme

Reduce child hunger

• Offering breakfast and lunch will give a child almost 28 g of protein and 846 calories per day.
• This will ensure that there is no hunger in the classroom, improving learning outcomes.

Reduce malnutrition

• India has the highest child-wasting rate of any nation included in the Global Hunger Index, at 17.3%.

Boost enrolment numbers

• The promise of food in schools encourages parents to bring their kids to school, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

• For instance, Tamil Nadu’s Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) at primary schools increased following the 1982 implementation of the midday meal programme.

Boost educational results

• According to a government poll, more than 25% of students don’t have breakfast before going to school.
• Making sure that breakfast is served regularly in schools’ benefits pupils by improving their concentration, learning, and memory.

Overcome the effects of Covid

• Children’s learning and nutritional outcomes have significantly decreased since the epidemic years.
• Innovative measures, such as breakfast programmes, are crucial to overcoming obstacles.

State responsibility

• According to Article 38, the States are responsible for promoting welfare and minimizing income, facility, and opportunity disparities among people and groups.

Combating child labour

• School meals encourage students to stay in school, which lowers the demand for child labour.

Socialization

• It aims at eroding caste stereotypes and class disparities through the shared experience of a meal.

Socio political developments around the scheme

• Political debate on freebies
• Falling human development performance
• Educational disruption caused by COVID-19
• Responsibility of state under Constitution (Article 38).
• To promote welfare and minimize inequalities in income as well as in facilities and opportunities among individuals and groups.

Challenges

• Critics claim that the programme may run into problems like those with the similar Program.

These may consist of

Food of bad quality

• It has been stated that this happens frequently in Midday Meal Scheme.
• Same issues will also arise in this Scheme.
• Examples include serving simple chapatis with salt and cases of food poisoning.

Corruption

• Misappropriation of monies and theft of goods provided under the scheme remain problems.
• For instance, schools in Odisha recently reported a shortage of 4-5 kg of grains in each gunny sack with a 50 kg capacity.

Cultural considerations

• Because of stringent religious and caste beliefs, dietary choices in such programmes can draw criticism.
• For instance, several states have been hesitant to include eggs on the menu for school lunches.
• Children have also occasionally been forced to sit in different classrooms based on their caste status.

Delays in sanctioning funds

• Teachers have been feeding the kids out of their own pockets or on credit because of the delays in payment.
• The cooks and helpers are not categorized as workers but rather as honorary workers.
• Because of this, the minimum wage laws do not apply to them.
• Most mid-day meal chefs earned less than Rs 2000 per month as a result.
• Same kind of issue also will arise breakfast scheme.

Welfare status of India

Global Food Security Index

• India is ranked 71 out of 113 countries

Global Hunger Index

• 101 out of 116 countries

Human Development Index

• 132 out of 191 countries

Schooling

• India’s mean years of schooling stood at just 7 (6.7) years in 2020-21.

Inequality in education

• India has among the highest levels of inequality in education.

Credit Suisse report

• Rising wealth inequality.

Stunted

• It is defined as low height-for-age.
• It is the result of chronic or recurrent under nutrition.
• About 10% of children aged 5-9 years were stunted in 2018, much lower than the all-India average of 22% and marginally lower than Kerala’s average (11%).

Underweight

• It is defined as low weight-for-age.
• A child who is underweight may be stunted, wasted or both.
• Marginally higher level of underweight children (23%) than Kerala (21%), but this was lower than the national average (35%).

Malnutrition

• 19% of children were malnourished (BMI for age), which was higher than the 16% in Kerala but lower than the national average (23%).
• It refers to deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients or impaired nutrient utilization.

Anemia

• About 10% and 7% were anemic and deficient in Vitamin A, respectively, whereas 41% were deficient in Vitamin D.
• It is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying capacity is insufficient to meet physiological needs.

Freebies

• Any public policy intervention that doesn’t support medium-term to long-term production and productivity may be termed as a freebie.
• Free electricity, free water, free public transportation, waiver of pending utility bills are examples.
• It is farm loan waivers are often regarded as freebies.
• This scheme also considered as freebies.

Way forward

• There is an urgent need for implementing innovative and effective welfare schemes to address the disruptions caused by the pandemic in the education.
• It is helping nutrition sectors and strengthens these sectors.

Initiatives

• Such as Illam Thedi Kalvi and Ennum Ezhuthum were positive attempts in the education sector.

Studies from other countries

• Free breakfast schemes might help increase educational outcomes.
• It is likely increase in school attendance and improved concentration on studies.
• The Department of Agriculture of the United States of America has launched breakfast programmes in schools in numerous states.
• Such programmes were also implemented in several European nations, notably France three years ago.

Impact on school education

Rise in enrolment

• After the improved version of the mid-day meal scheme in 1982 the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) at primary level (standards I to V) went up by 10% during July-September, 1982.
• It is compared with the corresponding period in 1981.
• In future this scheme also increases it.

Where should the programme focus more?

• Anaemia is a major health problem in Tamil Nadu, especially among women and children.
• It was said by the 2019-21 National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5’s report.
• From 50% during the period of the 2015-16 NFHS-4, the prevalence of Anaemia in children now went up to 57%.
• This and many other health issues can be addressed through the combined efforts of the departments of School Education, Public Health and Social Welfare and Women Empowerment.
• Based on expert advice, those in charge of the implementation of the ICDS and the nutritious meal programme can enhance the component of nutrition to those children having specific problems.
• The latest Breakfast Scheme is a step in this direction.
• The breakfast scheme caters to 1,14,095 primary school students from 1,545 government school
• It is important to consider T.N.’s performance because the breakfast scheme is being offered as a first-of-its-kind programme.
• However, the government, which has decades of expertise managing the mid-day meal programme.
• They must avoid the mistakes that have previously presented obstacles in its way.

It can be implemented in other states

• An interesting feature of this scheme is the cost-effective delivery of the service as it is complementary to the existing schemes.
• Further, the income of the Anganwadi workers substantially increased on account of multiple roles played by them.
• In the same way, the morning breakfast scheme makes use of the physical infrastructure (like cooking place and utensils) built for mid-day meals scheme.

-------------------------------------