CM launches 'three eggs a week' scheme for school students

Chennai, July 15 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today launched a scheme to provide three eggs a week to school students under the Nutritious Noon Meal Programme in the State.

The launching of this scheme coincided with the 105th birth anniversary of late Chief Minister K Kamaraj and the state government has decided to observe the day as ''Education Development Day''.

Mr Karunanidhi formally offered eggs to school children at a function in a government school in Chintadripet area in the city in the presence of Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna and School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu.

Hitherto, the government was providing only two eggs a week under the scheme and Mr Karunanidhi has announced that from today, three eggs would be provided a week to the students.

Since the day was celebrated as ''Education Development Day'', all the schools, both government and private, were open, despite being a Sunday, as per the government directive.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Karunanidhi said the government had brought an Act to celebrate the day as ''Education Development day'' to ensure that successive governments followed it every year.

Without referring to the previous AIADMK regime, he said when some other party assumed power in the State, it had failed to celebrate as 'Education Development Day' and had also stopped offering eggs to students under the Noon meal scheme.

Thanking the people for voting the DMK and its alliance parties to power, Mr Karunanidhi said the reason for providing three eggs a week was that it would encourage the students to go to schools and gain education.

Moreover, the students not only required the talent but also physical development to acquire knowledge. ''So we decided to offer three eggs a week'', he said and added that the government would stop with this.

''People should not entertain any hopes that government will increase it as four or five eggs in future'', he said.

UNI