TAMIL NADU: In a Tamil Nadu school, 15 students refused to avail CM’s breakfast scheme as the food was prepared by a Dalit woman. The district collector visited the school and warned the parents of legal action for caste discrimination.
Students of a school in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district refused to eat food provided under the state’s breakfast scheme as it was cooked by a Dalit woman. In the case of caste-based discrimination, 15 students of the school did not avail the free breakfast scheme as it was cooked by a Dalit woman.
In response, District Collector T Prabu Shankar visited the school and warned the parents of these students of potential legal action under the Prevention of Atrocities against the SC/ST Act.
The district collector met with the parents of these Hindu students after inspecting the morning breakfast scheme on Tuesday. When questioned about the issue, a parent stated that the food was being prepared by Sumathi, a Dalit, and he mentioned that his child would not consume the food until she was allowed to continue cooking.
The parents also stated if the school insisted, they were willing to take their kids out of school.
The scheme, which provides free breakfast to 15.75 lakh students in the state’s primary government schools, was inaugurated by Chief Minister MK Stalin on August 25.
Out of the 30 students studying at the Velan Chettiyar Panchayat Union School in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district, 15 refused to eat breakfast, and the issue was reported to the district administration.
The Planning Director, Srinivasan, requested the parents of these 15 students to allow their children to have breakfast as part of the scheme. However, the parents did not agree with Srinivasan’s request, and only two students started eating the food from August 30 onwards, leading to an escalation in the matter.
The district administration also issued a statement requesting all parents to allow their children to partake in the morning meal, emphasising that no such segregation would be tolerated.
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