Mid-day meals extended to PU students of KPS

BENGALURU: School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa announced here on Friday that the state government will provide mid-day meals to PUC students in Karnataka Public Schools across the state. From the next academic year, we will provide mid-day meals to PU students at KPS across the state. But we are yet to decide on extending the programme to all government colleges. I will request Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to grant permission and once done, we will try to provide it in the next academic year, he said, making the announcement during Childrens Day and a mega parent-teacher meeting at Vidhana Soudha. He asked Rakesh, a PU student from Bailhongal, about mid-day meals. Rakesh said, Since the college starts at 10 am and I live far away, I leave home at 7.45 am. It would be helpful to students like us if the department extends mid-day meals. The minister said, Earlier, the scheme covered students up to class 8. It has now been extended to Class 10. He thanked the Azim Premji Foundation for providing a grant of Rs 1,500 crore for distributing eggs and bananas. At present, nearly 45 lakh students from government and aided schools benefit from mid-day meals. Ningegowda AH, president, PU Lecturers Association, said, The state has around 2,000 government and aided PU colleges in the state, with around three-and-a-half lakh students studying. It is estimated that around Rs 195 crore may be required to extend the midday meal to these many students. He added, Most government PU college campuses also house high schools and primary schools. Otherwise, there is already a system of kitchens for preparing meals. If the programme is extended there is no need to provide additional infrastructure.