The School Education Department has instructed that the breakfast provided in government schools must first be eaten by teachers and its quality checked before it is served to students.
In Tamil Nadu, the breakfast scheme is in operation for children studying from Classes 1 to 5 in government and government-aided schools. Every day, one type of meal such as kichadi or pongal is provided. Meanwhile, the newly elected TVK government renamed it the “Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme,” and Chief Minister Vijay expanded the scheme to Classes 6 to 8 on Sept. 22.
Through this, breakfast is currently being provided to 34.64 lakh students studying in classes 1 to 8 in 44,984 government and government-aided schools across Tamil Nadu.
In this situation, 40 students who ate breakfast last Thursday at the Kottaiyur Panchayat Union Middle School in Tiruvallur district suffered vomiting and dizziness. The students were immediately sent to the Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital and treated. It was reported that there was a lizard in the food, and that the cook’s negligence was the reason for this. District Collector Kavitha assured that the matter would be investigated and appropriate action taken.
It was also reported that the students who had been receiving treatment in the hospital are in good health.
In this situation, the School Education Department has ordered that in schools, teachers should first taste the breakfast and check its quality before it is served to students.
Regarding this, a circular sent by the Director of Elementary Education, P.A. Naresh, to all District Educational Officers:
The breakfast scheme, which had been provided in government and government-aided schools for classes 1 to 5, has now been expanded to classes 6 to 8 as well. Guidelines for implementing this effectively have been issued.
Accordingly, apart from the items used for cooking in the kitchen, keeping any other items there should be completely avoided. The kitchen should always be maintained clean, free from smoke, dust, and cobwebs, and the cooking utensils should be thoroughly cleaned before and after use. Before serving the cooked food to the students, teachers should first ensure that the food is of good quality and suitable for their health, and only then should it be served to the students.
In addition, after cooking, the food items should be placed in the vessels used for serving, kept fully covered, and opened only when necessary before being served to the students. Teachers must ensure that the food remains safely covered both during cooking and after cooking, as well as after transferring it to other vessels for serving. It is stated that the school headmaster and teachers should monitor the task of serving food to students on a rotating basis every day.
