Goa junks plan to add eggs to mid-day meals after ‘strictly veg’ parents, students oppose pilot run

State education dept says after egg proposal failed to gain traction, they opted to include ragi laddus, chikkis instead. Meanwhile, Maharashtra continues to offer eggs in mid-day meals.

Representational image for the mid-day meal scheme | Photo: HRD Ministry | Facebook

New Delhi: Despite receiving approval from the Centre for its proposals—submitted twice for two academic years—to include eggs as a supplementary item in mid-day meals, the Goa government is yet to implement the plan, ThePrint has learnt. Instead, they have introduced millet-based snacks like laddus and chikkis.

Officials from the state education department indicated that the egg proposal did not gain traction, as it was not “well received” by students and parents during a pilot run in some schools. Consequently, ragi laddus and chikkis were introduced instead, according to the officials.

In contrast, its neighbouring state Maharashtra continued to serve eggs as an option in mid-day meals despite facing opposition from a section of BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena last year. Mahrasthra had introduced eggs in mid-day meals in November last year.

Goa Education Director Shailesh Zingde explained that eggs were initially introduced as a pilot programme in 2022. “However, it did not resonate well with students, parents, and the community. While there’s a common belief that everyone in Goa is non-vegetarian, that’s not the case. Many people are strict vegetarians, which affected the programme’s acceptance,” he told ThePrint.

Zingde noted that the state government then shifted to millet-based items for supplementary nutrition.

“We began providing millet-based items twice weekly, like chikkis and laddus, and they were very well received. As a result, we decided to continue with this approach… anyway Goa has always had a vegetarian mid-day meal menu,” he added.

Currently, at least 16 states and Union Territories offer eggs as an option in mid-day meals, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Kerala, Karnataka, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Ladakh, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.

The mid-day meal scheme, now known as Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme, aims to provide food security to children from economically weaker families and increase enrolment in public schools. The Centre shares the costs with states and Union territories in a 60:40 ratio, contributing 100 percent in UTs without a legislature.

What the state proposed

Records of meetings between the Goa government and the Project Approval Board (PAB) for the PM POSHAN scheme under the Union Ministry of Education from 2020 to 2024 reveal that the state initially proposed including eggs in mid-day meals as a supplementary diet for all students during the 2020-21 academic year. However, the plan was put on hold due to school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a subsequent proposal for the 2022-23 academic session, when schools reopened, the state aimed to provide eggs three times a week for 30 days to 93,296 primary school children. This proposal received approval from the Union Ministry of Education.

Despite the approval, meeting minutes indicate that the state did not provide any supplementary items to students during the 2022-23 academic year.

The Ministry noted, “The PAB observed that the State Government did not deliver supplementary nutrition under the flexi-fund component, even though their proposal was approved in 2022-23. PAB advised the state government to ensure the provision of supplementary nutrition to students.”

Official documents show that for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, the state government had proposed millet-based laddus and chikkis as supplementary diets instead of eggs, with the proposal receiving approval for both academic years.

“After detailed discussions, PAB approved the proposal of state government to provide supplementary nutrition items i.e. Ragi Laddu thrice in a week for 22 days spread over two months to 94,532 Primary school students at an estimated expenditure of Rs 145.58 lakh comprising Rs 87.35 lakh as central share and Rs 58.23 lakh as state share,” the ministry said to the state, as per the minutes of the meeting released last week.

Maharashtra continues serving eggs 

Maharashtra, which introduced eggs in its mid-day meals last November, has continued this practice this year as well. However, in December, a section of the ruling parties wrote separately to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, demanding an immediate reversal of the decision, claiming it “hurts the religious sentiments” of several communities.

Despite this opposition, the state has continued serving eggs in mid-day meals.

Minutes from a recent PAB meeting with the Maharashtra government show that the state proposed offering one egg or a banana weekly for 18 weeks to students who prefer a vegetarian option, for the 2024-25 academic year as well.

While approving the proposal, the ministry also recommended exploring the feasibility of providing millet-based supplementary nutritional items in aspirational districts and areas with high rates of malnutrition, according to the minutes released last week.

A senior official in Maharashtra’s education department said that the state has given an option of eggs to students who prefer to have it. “For others, there is an option for bananas or any other seasonal fruit,” the official told ThePrint.

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)