As schools remain closed across the state due to the lockdown, the Tamil Nadu government has been taking steps to ensure that children’s mid-day meals entitlements are not affected. The Department of Education has started collecting bank account details to transfer the money directly required for mid-day meals.
Schools in Tamil Nadu have remained closed from March 17. As a result of this, disadvantaged children who go to government schools found it difficult to get nutritious food which they were getting as part of mid-day meals.
After consulting domain experts to resolve the problem, the Tamil Nadu government has come with a plan to ensure that no children go hungry. Accordingly, the government has given orders to transfer money for equivalent to amount required for mid-day meals right from the date of closure till date to the education department.
For this purpose, the Government of Tamil Nadu has instructed all District Education Officers to collect the names, age, address and bank account numbers of the students who are part of the mid-day meals programme in Government Schools and Government Aided Schools.
Tamil Nadu is the first state to come out with such a measure and could be a role model for other states to follow suit.