CM Vijay Launches Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme for Classes 6-8: 15.3 Lakh Students Covered Today

Why this matters to Tamil Nadu

Classroom hunger is one of the most documented barriers to learning among children from lower-income families in Tamil Nadu. Students who skip breakfast — common in households where parents leave for work before school hours — show measurably lower concentration, retention, and attendance rates compared to fed peers. Extending the breakfast scheme to Classes 6, 7, and 8 catches students at the precise age when dropout risk peaks in Tamil Nadu's government school system, particularly among girls. The 15.30 lakh students newly covered today are mostly in the 11-14 age group — a segment historically vulnerable to dropping out due to economic pressure on families. For parents in this income bracket, the scheme also reduces daily household food expenditure meaningfully, given that one child's breakfast is now provided by the state five days a week.