Vijay Serves Breakfast to Students at Scheme Launch, Joins Them for Pongal

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday launched the expanded breakfast scheme for school students in Chennai. The government has extended the programme to students studying in Classes 6 to 8. Vijay launched the expanded initiative at a government middle school in Chennai and interacted with students during the programme. He also personally served breakfast to several students at the school. After serving the meal, Vijay sat with the students and ate breakfast alongside them. The event highlighted the government’s expansion of its school breakfast programme to additional classes. According to the reported government figures, the expansion will benefit around 15.30 lakh additional students across Tamil Nadu. The programme will cover students studying in government and state-aided schools across the state. The government has linked the initiative with its efforts to ensure that students receive nutritious food before beginning their school day.

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Vijay Serves Pongal and Eats With Students

During the launch event, Vijay served breakfast to students before joining them for the meal. Students received Pongal as part of the breakfast served at the school. Vijay interacted with the children and shared the meal with them inside the school premises. The Chief Minister later visited classrooms and spoke with students during his visit. The interaction gave students an opportunity to meet the Chief Minister directly during the programme. Officials and school representatives also participated in the launch event. The government has presented the breakfast scheme as a measure to address hunger among schoolchildren. Officials say regular breakfast can help students begin their school day with adequate nutrition. The programme also aims to support children’s concentration during classroom activities. Tamil Nadu previously introduced the breakfast programme for younger students before expanding its coverage. The latest expansion now brings students from Classes 6 to 8 into the scheme.

The expanded breakfast programme will cover students across 15,454 government and state-aided schools in Tamil Nadu. The government expects the expansion to benefit approximately 15.30 lakh additional students from Classes 6 to 8. The state has also allocated additional funds for implementing the expanded programme during the current financial year. Reports put the additional allocation at ₹217.63 crore for the expansion. This takes the reported total allocation for the breakfast programme to ₹724 crore. The government plans to provide breakfast through participating schools across different parts of Tamil Nadu. The expansion builds on the existing breakfast initiative that already serves younger schoolchildren. Tamil Nadu has developed several school meal programmes over the years to support children’s nutrition. The state government has also connected these programmes with school attendance and learning outcomes. The latest expansion extends that approach to students in middle-school classes across government and aided institutions.

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Focus on Nutrition and Classroom Learning

The Tamil Nadu government has said the breakfast scheme aims to improve children’s nutritional status. It also wants students to attend school without facing hunger during the morning. Officials have linked adequate nutrition with students’ ability to participate in classroom activities. The government expects the expanded programme to provide regular morning meals to students who qualify under its coverage. By extending the scheme to Classes 6 to 8, authorities have widened access beyond primary-school students. The programme also reflects Tamil Nadu’s longer history of providing meals to schoolchildren. Government budget documents describe earlier school meal initiatives and the expansion of such programmes under former Chief Minister Kamarajar. The state later introduced the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme for younger students. Authorities subsequently expanded its coverage to additional groups of schoolchildren. The latest move continues that expansion and brings more middle-school students into the breakfast programme.

The launch places school nutrition at the centre of Tamil Nadu’s latest education-related welfare expansion. Vijay’s visit also included classroom interactions with students after the breakfast programme began. The government expects the expanded scheme to reach students across thousands of schools. It has allocated additional funds to support the programme during the financial year. The initiative combines food support with the broader objective of helping children attend school regularly. Officials have also emphasised the importance of starting the school day without hunger. The government renamed the programme the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Free Breakfast Scheme in honour of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Kamarajar. The name reflects the state’s history of school meal programmes associated with Kamarajar’s tenure. With the latest expansion, students from Classes 6 to 8 will also receive breakfast through the programme. The launch therefore marks another expansion of Tamil Nadu’s school nutrition initiative across government and aided schools.

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