Eggs in midday meals take hit due to price rise

BENGALURU: Government school children are having to do without eggs in the midday meals due to the hike in prices. Many schools are unable to bear the cost of eggs and have stopped giving eggs. The teachers are managing by giving bananas to the students instead of eggs.

Egg price in the market has gone up by Rs 2-3 each. Along with the price hike, teachers are facing a fund crunch as the government has not increased funds for egg purchase. A proposal was sent, but the government hasn’t given green signal, putting the teachers in a tight spot.

The government provides eggs with midday meals for six days a week for students from Class 1-10 in the state. Eggs are provided daily to around 55 lakh children and the government provides Rs 6 per egg for purchase at the school level. Now, the market price of eggs has risen to Rs 8-9 and despite the price hike, government is not giving additional funds. Due to this, teachers are struggling to afford eggs.

Even though a proposal was sent to the government for increasing the allocations, the government has not approved it. Unable to arrange funds for eggs, many schools have stopped eggs and teachers are just giving bananas instead of eggs and washing their hands of it.