Chikki dropped from midday meal scheme for schoolchildren

BENGALURU: Government and aided schools will no longer provide peanut chikki bars to students as part of the midday meal scheme. The Education Department has removed chikki from the list of nutritious food provided to students.

The department had been providing eggs, bananas and chikki bars to students with the intention of providing nutritious food. Students who did not eat eggs were given bananas and chikkis. Now, the Education Department has stopped providing it. The department claims that there is a shortage of chikki supply and difficult store for long time. The government will now only provide bananas and eggs to students.

The Azim Premji Foundation has arranged for eggs to be provided to children daily. Students who do not eat eggs will only receive bananas. The Public Education Department has issued an official order regarding this matter. The department cited several major reasons to drop chikkis under the scheme.

Initially, students from Classes 1 to 10 were provided with eggs or bananas and chikkis twice a week as part of a nutritious midday meal programme. Later, with the help of the Azim Premji Foundation, students were given eggs, bananas, or chikki bars six days a week.

The department claims that the required amount of chikki bars is not available and it’s not possible to store them properly. Expired chikkis were being distributed, which could have had an adverse effect on the children’s health. Moreover, the chikkis contained high amounts of unhealthy unsaturated fats and sugar, as stated by the Kalaburagi Deputy Director.

Considering these factors, the Education Department has instructed all Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPIs) to stop providing chickpeas and instead offer only bananas or eggs.