The Tamil Nadu government is considering a proposal to provide chicken biryani for mid-day meal once a week to government school students. State School Education Minister Rajmohan made an interesting proposal to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
Speaking on the proposal, Minister Rajmohan said school nutrition programs themselves have been strengthened in every major political era in the state. He said, Kamaraj started the mid-day meal schemeKalaignar Karunanidhi added eggs to the list, MGR turned it into a nutritious food program and Jayalalithaa arranged for egg distribution throughout the week. Similarly, he has a special desire to introduce chicken biryani once a week in government schools.
Source newsThe proposal is currently under the consideration of Chief Minister Vijay but a final decision is yet to be taken. Tamil Nadu has always been considered as a pioneer for the entire country when it comes to school nutrition programmes. The mid-day meal scheme was first introduced in the 1950s by former Chief Minister K Kamaraj and subsequent governments expanded it further by improving nutritional standards.
Also, Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme was launched in September 2022 to provide breakfast to primary school children.Which was later named Perunthaliva Kamaraj’s Breakfast Scheme. This ensures that children get two nutritious meals a day. If Biryani’s proposal is approved, it will be a major step in improving children’s nutrition and school attendance in the state.
Minister Rajmohan also mentioned plans to revamp the school breakfast menu. Currently, about Rs 15 is allocated per student and the government plans to replace frequent wheat and chuji samadhi with other foods that are more nutritious and palatable for students.