Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Nov 15: School education and literacy minister Madhu Bangarappa announced here on Friday that the state government will begin providing mid-day meals to PUC students studying in Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) across the state.

“From the next academic year, we will provide mid-day meals to PU students at KPS across the state. But we are yet to decide on extending the programme to all government colleges. I will request chief minister Siddaramaiah to grant permission and once done, we will try to provide it in the next academic year,” he said, making the announcement during Children’s Day and a mega parent-teacher meeting at Vidhana Soudha.

He interacted with Rakesh, a PU student from Bailhongal, and sought his opinion on mid-day meals. Rakesh said, “Since the college starts at 10 am and I live far away, I leave home at 7.45 am. It would be helpful to students like us if the department extends mid-day meals.”

The minister noted, “Earlier, the scheme covered students up to Class 8. It has now been extended to Class 10.” He also thanked the Azim Premji Foundation for providing a grant of Rs 1,500 crore for distributing eggs and bananas.

At present, nearly 45 lac students from government and aided schools benefit from mid-day meals. Ningegowda A H, president of the PU Lecturers’ Association, said, “The state has around 2,000 government and aided PU colleges, with around three-and-a-half lakh students studying. It is estimated that around Rs 195 crore may be required to extend the mid-day meal to these many students.”

He added, “Most government PU college campuses also house high schools and primary schools. Otherwise, there is already a system of kitchens for preparing meals. If the programme is extended there is no need to provide additional infrastructure.”