Coimbatore civic body to give free breakfast in schools
March 22nd, 2010 - 4:09 pm ICT by IANS ( 1 comment )Chennai, March 22 (IANS) Civic authorities in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore town have decided to provide free breakfast to poor students studying in municipal schools from the next fiscal year.
Presenting the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation’s budget for 2010-11, Mayor R. Venkatachalam said poor students were not able to focus on studies as they came hungry to the school.
Breakfast would be provided in order to enable them to concentrate on their studies, he said.
The scheme is expected to cost around Rs.2 crore per year, it is learnt.
While the state government was the first to introduce noon meal schemes in the schools, the Coimbatore municipality becomes the first local body in Tamil Nadu to introduce the free breakfast scheme.
The Coimbatore Municipal Corporation runs 85 schools which have about 30,300 students. Of these, around 9,300 students are enrolled under the noon meal scheme, an official said.
These students, plus some not enrolled under the noon meal scheme, will be given free breakfast.
“Most of the parents of the students studying in the schools are coolies. Their mothers go to work early in the morning without cooking or may not have the money to cook breakfast. The kids come to school tired and wait eagerly for the noon meals,” a school official told IANS over phone from Coimbatore.
The logistics are being worked out. The students may be provided with food packets or the services of noon meal workers may be enlisted to cook the breakfast.
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Tags: budget, civic authorities, civic body, crore, fiscal year, food packets, free breakfast, logistics, money, municipality, noon meal, noon meals, parents, poor students, rs 2, school breakfast, state government, tamil nadu, venkatachalam
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Mayor to seek Government support for free breakfast
Staff Reporter
Novel and noble: Mayor S. Sujatha interacting with students of Thanjammal Memorial Elementary School at Seva Sangam Complex, Tiruchi.
TIRUCHI: Presence of the Mayor, S. Sujatha, at the fourth anniversary of ‘community breakfast scheme’ on Thursday at the Thanjammal Memorial School on the Seva Sangam premises, carried out under School Improvement Programme (SIP), was an opportunity for the organisers to bring to her notice the ‘free breakfast scheme’ being implemented by the Thiruvanandapuram City Corporation for the benefit of 7,000 children from financially backward families in 15-aided schools.
With the support of sponsors and philanthropists, the Community Breakfast Scheme in the Tiruchi City Corporation had been expanding.
There were now nearly 2,800 urban poor children belonging over 37 aided and municipal primary and upper primary schools benefitting from the scheme, said S. Sivakumar, Senior Lecturer, District Institute of Education and Training, Kumulur, based on whose research study, the scheme was introduced during February, 2007.
According to the study, urban poor children, who attended schools with empty stomach lacked concentration in the classes.
In schools covered by the scheme, students were found to be punctual.
Applauding the initiative, Ms. Sujatha expressed her inclination to take up the idea with the Government seeking official backing for the scheme.
Accompanied by the School Headmistress, R. Visalakshi, the Mayor served breakfast of sweet pongal, idlis, sambar and chutney to the children and later interacted with them. The children demonstrated an impressive academic performance with their ABL (Activity Based Learning) techniques.
Speaking on the occasion, the Assistant Elementary Education Officer, M. Ayyasami, Tiruchi West, said that children were promptly reporting to schools at 8.30 a.m. for the free breakfast and were active in classrooms thereafter.
The Chief Educational Officer, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, M. Vijayakumari, delivered a special address on the occasion and praised the teachers for the academic performance of the children.
The CEO handed over free uniforms sponsored by the Canara Bank to 350 children on the occasion.
The Councillor of 44th ward Hema, Canara Bank Manager K. Bharathi, the Administrative functionary of Sri Satru Samhara Murthy Swamigal Ashram Santhanam offered felicitations.