Ragi malt will be given to schoolchildren from next month as additional supplement: Madhu Bangarappa

Karnataka govt to give ragi malt as additional supplement to students in all govt & aided schools from Dec 2023. 3,000 schools to be upgraded as Karnataka Public Schools in 3 yrs. CSR fund of ₹2,500 cr to be collected from corporate cos & NGOs. Aim to improve class 10 & 12 results.

Karnataka government has decided to give ragi malt as an additional supplement along with milk (in Ksheera Bhagya scheme) to students in the morning in all government and government-aided schools in the State.

“Earlier, we had implemented distribution of ragi malt to schoolchildren in two districts as a pilot project and it is successful. Therefore, we have decided extend this project across the State and it will be launched from December 2023,” said Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for the Department of School Education and Literacy on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting with Deputy Directors of the department at Vikasa Soudha, he said, “To attract children towards government schools, we have decided to upgrade 3,000 schools as Karnataka Public Schools (KPS), particularly in rural areas and one school for two gram panchayats across the State in three years. Around 600 school will be upgraded for the next academic year.”

“The concept of KPS schools is successful in the State and these schools are popular. Parents have shown interest in admitting their children to those schools. These schools offer classes from kindergarten to class 12 in the same compound, along with English-medium sections. We will upgrade the schools with proper infrastructure and all the facilities, including extra curricular activities, through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund,” he added.

Mr. Bangarappa added, “We have some plan to collect around ₹2,500 crore of CSR fund for the schools’ development from the corporate companies and NGOs. The department is waiting for that fund. Azim Premji University is one of the private sector organisations that have expressed interest in working with us. Efforts are being made to improve the class 10 and 12 results, and better them than what was in the pre-Covid levels,” he explained.