Tamil Nadu has extended its free school breakfast scheme to include students in Classes 6 to 8, increasing the number of beneficiaries by approximately 1.53 million. The expansion brings the total number of covered students to nearly 3.5 million across the state’s government and government-aided schools.

The expanded Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme was officially launched by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday at Gandhi Gramam Middle School in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai. During the event, the chief minister served pongal, sambar, and a sweet dish to students before dining with them, and he engaged with pupils in classrooms throughout the visit.

This marks the first inclusion of middle school students in the programme, which was initially introduced in 2022 by the previous government led by M.K. Stalin. At that time, the scheme provided free breakfasts to students in Classes 1 through 5 at government schools before expanding to government-aided institutions.

With the latest expansion, the scheme now covers 3.46 million children attending Classes 1 to 8 across 44,984 schools. The government has allocated an additional Rs2.17 billion in the current financial year to support the enlargement of the programme, bringing total funding to approximately Rs7.24 billion.

The breakfast initiative operates in all districts statewide except Chengalpattu and Tiruppur, where the implementation is temporarily paused due to the Model Code of Conduct in effect for upcoming Assembly by-elections in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies.

Named after former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, whose leadership is closely tied to the expansion of educational access, the scheme aims to address classroom hunger, improve student nutrition, enhance school attendance, and boost academic focus.

Meal offerings are scheduled throughout the week with designated menus: upma on Mondays and Thursdays, kichdi on Tuesdays, pongal on Wednesdays, and a sweet dish on Fridays. Authorities have been directed to maintain strict hygiene standards and timely meal service.

At the launch event, among the students was S. Tharshini, a Class 7 pupil, who recalled the chief minister’s attentiveness during their conversation before the meal. A total of 217 students participated in the breakfast at the Gandhi Gramam Middle School site.