Vijay govt expands TN breakfast scheme to cover classes VI-VIII students starting on Periyar birth anniversary

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that the state’s flagship breakfast scheme would be expanded to cover students of classes VI to VII from the birth anniversary of Periyar celebrated on Sept 17.Vijay directed officials to take steps to launch the first phase of the expansion on Sept 17, extending the scheme beyond its present coverage of primary school students. The move is expected to benefit lakhs of middle school students studying in govt schools across Tamil Nadu.The chief minister’s breakfast scheme was launched in 2022 to provide nutritious morning meals to govt schoolchildren and improve attendance, classroom participation and learning outcomes.

The programme was later expanded in phases and has been widely cited as a model welfare initiative aimed at addressing classroom hunger among children from economically disadvantaged families.The decision to widen its coverage was announced after a review meeting of the social welfare and women’s rights department at the secretariat, where officials reviewed various welfare programmes for children, women and senior citizens. The state govt said the expansion would help ensure that more students receive nutritious meals and continue their education without hunger affecting learning outcomes.