True to the philosophy of the Dravidian model, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has given a new impetus to the education sector in the state. Apart from improving the nutrition of school children, one of the key programmes of his government – ​​the morning breakfast programme – is aimed at improving the human capital of the state in the long run.

The coverage of the scheme was extended to more aided schools by the Prime Minister on Monday. About 24 lakh students are now benefiting from the scheme, making Tamil Nadu the first region in the world to provide breakfast in schools on such a large scale. Though the scheme will cost the exchequer Rs 500 crore, the short-term and long-term benefits will be huge.

Some may be naïve to deride interventions like these as freebies, only progressive schemes like the one implemented by the Dravidian parties have made Tamil Nadu the numero uno state in India in terms of human resource development. In fact, the much-vaunted Mid-Day Meal Scheme, now emulated all over India, was introduced in the state of Madras (now Tamil Nadu) in 1921 by the Justice Party (predecessor of the DMK party). Since then, Tamil Nadu has been a role model for the rest of India in terms of evidence-based social interventions.

The rationale for introducing the morning breakfast schedule can be deduced from a baseline survey among children aged 5-12 years, which found that 43% did not eat breakfast daily or only occasionally. As many as 17% were found never to eat breakfast before going to school. The survey further identified that the problem of skipping breakfast was higher among children from the bottom 40 percentile of income, or rather whose parents, especially mothers, were day laborers.

A study conducted by the European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences identified a clear positive causal relationship between breakfast and happiness and concentration. Students who ate breakfast every day had higher scores on the happiness index.

A similar study from the University of Leeds in the UK (‘The effects of breakfast on behaviour and academic performance in children and adolescents’) found that there is a positive correlation between the frequency of breakfast and the quality of school grades or standardised test scores.

A study in the Netherlands among 605 Dutch children found that skipping breakfast (breakfast <5 dagen/week) geassocieerd werd met lagere gemiddelde jaarlijkse schoolcijfers. Met regelmatige ontbijtinname (>5 times a week) showed dramatic improvements in their performance.

A study by the Tamil Nadu Planning Commission on the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Programme also identified similar trends. It found that attendance increased by at least 20% in 90% of schools as a result of the programme. Therefore, the breakfast programme was a game-changer.

Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Treaudeux announced on the ‘X’ platform that breakfast would be made mandatory in primary schools through his government’s National School Food Programme. In addition, the Labour Party in the United Kingdom had promised to provide free breakfast to primary school children across the country if they came to power.

As Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin once said, education is the real wealth that cannot be stolen. The breakfast scheme, among others, goes a long way in creating a level playing field for children from all backgrounds. When a government provides the best education to all children, the overall human resources of the state improve. Better the human capital, better the society and better the overall economic growth.

(Footnote is a weekly column discussing issues related to Tamil Nadu)

(Salem Dharanidharan is Executive Coordinator of the Dravidian Professionals Forum and an alumnus of the University of Oxford)

Dutch study

A study in the Netherlands among 605 children found that skipping breakfast (breakfast <5 dagen/week) geassocieerd werd met lagere gemiddelde jaarlijkse schoolcijfers. Met regelmatige ontbijtinname (>5 times a week) showed dramatic improvements in their numbers