With egg becoming pricey, banana or chikki have become omnipresent in many State schools

Owing to escalating cost, egg is going missing from the midday meal plates of many school-going children in the State. While some school authorities and NGOs are bearing the additional cost, in many others either groundnut chikki or banana is being given, instead of egg.

Owing to escalating cost, egg is going missing from the midday meal plates of many school-going children in the State. While some school authorities and NGOs are bearing the additional cost, in many others either groundnut chikki or banana is being given, instead of egg.

The State government has fixed ₹6 per unit of egg/banana/groundnut chikki, which is provided in addition to midday meals. However, egg price has been shooting northwards for over a month now and had crossed ₹7 per unit last week, to see a slight dip to ₹6.50 in the retail market on Friday. Over this, the school authorities will incur an additional cost of around 30 paise to boil the egg and peel it.

This prompted many school authorities to discontinue egg distribution to children and instead provide chikki and banana. “The school authorities are supposed to buy eggs, chikki and banana from our own funds and the government will reimburse us over time. In many schools, headmasters are paying for it from their own pockets, like in my school. But the government has fixed ₹6 per unit of either egg or chikki, or banana, while an egg costs over ₹7 in the retail market. Over the cost of the egg, we need to add 30 paise as peeling charges that were given last year and discontinued this year, taking the cost of a peeled boiled egg to over ₹7.30. As there is no hope of reimbursement of the additional cost incurred, we have opted to distribute banana or chikki, instead of egg,” a headmaster of a government high school in Kolar said. 

Another reason why schools could be preferring chikki and banana over egg is that they cost far less per piece even though the government has allotted the same ₹6 per unit.

However, this is contrary to the State government’s order which clearly states that egg should be distributed on priority, and only those students who refuse to eat egg should be given banana and chikki. According to the data of the Department of School Education and Literacy, irrespective of caste and community, 92% of students opted for eggs in the midday meals programme.

“We have given strict instructions that egg cannot be substituted with banana or chikki if a student chooses egg. Even though the prices of eggs had climbed up marginally, such substitution cannot be accepted as school authorities would have saved money on all students to whom they have been distributing chikki and banana. Usually teachers make some adjustments with that savings, when the egg prices go up. Usually the price of eggs falls during summer and is pricier during winter and rainy seasons. Teachers balance out this price fluctuation and there is enough room for it. So we will take action against those schools which are not distributing eggs even when the students have opted for it,” said Cauvery. B.B., Commissioner, Department of Public Instruction.

Presently, the state government is providing egg or banana, or chikki with midday meals once a week as additional nutrients to students from Class I to VIII under the Prime Minister Poshan Abhiyaan.