Government to link school education with nutrition

A meeting was held in this regard between School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan and HFI foundation representatives at the Secretariat recently.

A senior official from School Education Department said that the foundation adopted three government schools in the outskirts of Chennai, where they had undertaken various welfare measures, including providing regular extra nutrition meals and basic amenities.

“They (HFI) sought assistance from the Tamil Nadu government to expand their school welfare programmes in the state,” he said.

At present, the HFI is taking care of government schools in Nanmangalam, Kovilambakkam and Amman Nagar in the city suburbs. The official said HFI was planning to expand the programme so that many government schools, especially in the rural areas, would be benefited under the programme.

With the assistance of government,the foundation is likely to identify schools, especially at the primary and middle level, to expand the scheme, the official said.

“The scheme will give an extra meal to the students. It will also provide drinking water and toilet facilities,” the official added.

In addition to the meal and hygienic programmes, the scheme would ensure that a physical trainer is appointed in the school. “The physical education staff will impart regular morning exercises and yoga classes to the kids,” he said.

HFI would create environmental awareness among children. “It will set up green teams in the school with a student leader steering the group. They will be in charge of keeping the school clean and taking care of gardening,” he said.