The Telangana government has decided to stop the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme in all government schools due to a lack of funds. The scheme was first introduced in 2023 by the previous government to provide free breakfast to students. However, after the Congress government came into power, they discontinued the program.
Initially, the scheme was launched in 119 government schools—one in each Assembly constituency. Later, it was expanded to 3,500 schools. The previous government had planned to extend it to all 27,147 schools in Telangana, but this could not happen due to financial constraints. The contract for implementing the program was given to an NGO called Manna Trust.
The breakfast menu included items such as idli and sambar, wheat rava upma, puri and aloo kurma, tomato bath, rice rava khichdi, millet idli, pongal, uggani, and poha. These meals were meant to help students start their day with nutritious food.
Sources say that after the new government took charge, the scheme was discontinued. Initially, there were discussions about sharing the costs between the Central and State governments, similar to the mid-day meal scheme. However, this plan did not move forward. The lack of funds has also reportedly contributed to fewer students enrolling in government schools this academic year. A report by ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) showed that Telangana’s school enrollment rate dropped from 75.5% to 73.5% in 2024.
Some government school teachers confirmed that students received breakfast until the end of the last academic year. However, the scheme was stopped in the current academic year. One teacher suggested that restarting the program could help increase both enrollment and daily attendance in schools.
A staff member from Manna Trust, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that their organization received the contract to provide breakfast in phases across three districts—Medchal, Hyderabad, and Rangareddy. The previous government had allocated funds for only five months, after which no further payments were made. Around Rs 2 crore is still pending, and there have been no updates on restarting the scheme.
M. Ravinder, the additional general secretary of the Telangana Progressive Teachers Federation, stated that they have submitted several requests to the state government to resume the breakfast scheme, but they have not received any response. He emphasized that morning breakfast is essential for many government school students who often skip meals. He also pointed out that discontinuing the scheme might be one of the reasons for the decline in school enrollment this year.
