Skyrocketing egg prices are not only affecting regular consumers but also schoolteachers across Karnataka, who are now paying from their own pockets to maintain the nutritional quality of midday meals.
On Wednesday, wholesale egg prices stood at ₹6.75 per piece, while retail prices surged beyond ₹8, creating a stark mismatch with the State-approved ₹6 reimbursement rate under the midday meal programme. As a result, teachers are bridging the gap themselves to ensure that students still receive eggs as scheduled.
Government and aided schools from Classes 1 to 10 provide eggs, bananas and groundnut chikkis as supplementary nutrition to help prevent malnutrition. However, with the government stopping the supply of chikkis due to concerns over quality, reliance on eggs and bananas has increased — alongside a noticeable rise in student attendance.
Scheme expansion intensifies pressure on schools
With support from the Azim Premji Foundation for Development (APF), Karnataka expanded egg distribution to six days a week beginning September 2024. For students who do not eat eggs, bananas are offered as an alternative. However, with egg prices crossing the State’s reimbursement limit, several schools are unable to cope financially.
Currently, the government allocates ₹6 per egg, which includes transportation, peeling and handling charges. But with the retail price exceeding ₹8, the shortfall is being covered by teachers themselves. In some schools, eggs have been temporarily replaced with bananas due to affordability challenges.
A teacher from a government Urdu school in Bengaluru South shared the personal toll:
“All the children in our school eat eggs. Despite the high price, we cannot deny them. I spent ₹2,800 of my own money last month on eggs. The department will not refund this amount.”
Seasonal shortages and festive demand push prices higher
Egg distributors point to seasonal fluctuations as the primary reason for the price surge. Bengaluru-based distributor V. Nagaraj explained that egg production dips during the rainy and winter months. Lower supply combined with heightened demand — especially in December during the Christmas season — has pushed prices up.
“As production is low in the winter, we are not able to procure enough eggs from poultry farms,” Nagaraj said. “Demand rises in December, making supply even more challenging. So, the increase in prices is inevitable.”
For a previous NK analysis on food price volatility:
https://newskarnataka.com/business/2024/11/28/food-supply-chain-inflation/
Schools request government intervention
Headmasters across Bengaluru say they have repeatedly raised the issue with the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL), urging a revision of the egg reimbursement amount. Officials have reportedly agreed to escalate the request to the government, but no adjustment has been made so far.
“We are purchasing eggs at retail prices,” said a headmaster of a government higher primary school in Bengaluru. “Every month, we have to pay the additional amount from our own pockets.”
As prices remain unstable, teachers continue to shoulder the financial strain to ensure students do not miss out on essential nutrition, underscoring the need for immediate policy intervention to support both educators and children.