📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Michael Gäbler
Education
Tamil Nadu Extends Free Breakfast Programme to Classes 6‑8, Benefiting 15 Lakh More Students
✍️ NDTV
🗓 18 Sep 2026, 08:46 PM
👁 12
The Tamil Nadu government has widened its free breakfast scheme to include students of classes 6 to 8, adding roughly 15 lakh beneficiaries.
The state government of Tamil Nadu announced on Tuesday that its free breakfast programme, originally limited to primary school children, will now cover students in classes 6, 7 and 8. The expansion is expected to bring an additional 15 lakh pupils into the scheme, raising the total reach to over 30 lakh school‑goers.
Launched in 2019, the initiative provides a nutritious morning meal to improve attendance and learning outcomes among young learners. By extending the benefit to middle‑school students, officials aim to address growing concerns about adolescent nutrition and to keep school drop‑out rates low.
The additional coverage will be funded through the state’s education budget, with meals prepared at school kitchens and monitored by the Directorate of School Education. Authorities say the move will also create new jobs for kitchen staff and suppliers in rural and urban districts.
Implementation will begin in the upcoming academic session, with pilot testing in selected districts before a statewide rollout. The government plans to track participation through digital attendance records to assess the scheme’s impact on student performance and health.
Launched in 2019, the initiative provides a nutritious morning meal to improve attendance and learning outcomes among young learners. By extending the benefit to middle‑school students, officials aim to address growing concerns about adolescent nutrition and to keep school drop‑out rates low.
The additional coverage will be funded through the state’s education budget, with meals prepared at school kitchens and monitored by the Directorate of School Education. Authorities say the move will also create new jobs for kitchen staff and suppliers in rural and urban districts.
Implementation will begin in the upcoming academic session, with pilot testing in selected districts before a statewide rollout. The government plans to track participation through digital attendance records to assess the scheme’s impact on student performance and health.