Karnataka’s Department of School Education suggested that the state government consider extending the distribution of eggs, bananas and chicken to public high school students under the PM Poshan scheme.
Special Nutrition Foods (SNF) has received positive responses from students in the 6-14 year old group or those studying in classes 1-8, according to department sources. Additionally, officials believe the issue of malnutrition is also a major concern among high school students. “We have proposed to the state government to consider extending SNF to government high school students to address the problem of malnutrition in those students. There’s a good chance it will be picked up at the session,” said a department official.
According to officials, the extension of SNF to high school students is expected to benefit about 9-1.2 million students and cost about Rs 3.2 crore per year. Initially, the central government distributed eggs as part of a lunch plan in his seven districts of malnutrition-stricken Kalyan Karnataka. However, the state government officially announced plans to extend the distribution of eggs/bananas/chicken to all districts in July. However, it was not until his October that the plan was implemented in all the departments of Bengaluru, Mysore, Karaburgi and Belagavi.
According to data provided by the department, as of December 14, 38.37 million out of a total of 47.97 million students in the four departments preferred eggs, followed by 3.37 million students who chose bananas and chikki. Followed by 2.27 million students who chose.
The distribution of the SNF was also intended to improve school attendance, but the department has yet to make a full assessment. The official said, “Attendance is not good. We have to wait until the end of the school year for evaluation. In addition, student preferences may vary from month to month.”
