Bengaluru: Karnataka has emerged among the states with the highest proportion of students availing midday meals at school, with 92 per cent of enrolled students benefiting from the scheme during 2024-25.

The figures, compiled in Azim Premji University’s report Realising Right: A Handbook of Welfare in India, place Karnataka joint sixth alongside Odisha, Sikkim, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

Karnataka records 92% meal coverage

Goa topped the list with 97 per cent of enrolled students availing meals, followed by Meghalaya at 96 per cent and Nagaland at 95 per cent. Ladakh recorded 94 per cent, while Kerala and Mizoram stood at 93 per cent.

At the national level, the average proportion of enrolled students availing midday meals was 76.2 per cent.

Bihar recorded the lowest coverage at 60 per cent, followed by Chandigarh at 63 per cent, Delhi at 65 per cent, Uttar Pradesh at 67 per cent and Jharkhand at 69 per cent.

Report flags gaps in midday meal data

The report highlighted differences between school enrolment figures, the number of students proposed to receive meals, approvals by the Programme Approval Board and the average number actually availing meals.

Former Institute for Social and Economic Change faculty member AS Seetharamu attributed the differences to factors including dropouts, additional enrolments and variations between projected and actual attendance.

He also noted that class attendance and midday meal attendance registers are maintained separately and suggested integrating them for better monitoring.

Karnataka spends more on student nutrition

Karnataka is among the states spending more on midday meals. The per-meal cost is Rs 5.37 per child, while the state also provides hot milk to students from Classes 1 to 10 under the Ksheera Bhagya Yojana at Rs 6.26 per child per day for five days a week.

Students also receive eggs or bananas at Rs 6 per child per day for six days a week.

Centralised kitchens cover only 10.5% schools

Around 10.5 per cent of Karnataka schools are served by centralised kitchens supplying midday meals.

This is significantly lower than Delhi, where 100 per cent of schools receive meals from centralised kitchens, and Goa, where the coverage stands at 99 per cent. Puducherry has 95.8 per cent coverage.

Karnataka’s midday meals also include additions such as ragi malt with milk and jaggery and eggs.