"No Egg, No Meat For Kids": Karnataka Education Panel Cites "Lifestyle Disorders"

A National Education Policy (NEP) committee in Karnataka — where more than 80 per cent of the people eat eggs or meat — wants non-vegetarian items removed from the mid-day meals in schools across India. The reason: Consuming eggs or meat causes illness, according to this panel.

This is the latest in a series of such suggestions by expert committees, which have submitted 25 position papers to the state government so far. One such panel has described the Pythagoras theorem as fake. The state's NEP taskforce head later cited discussions on Quora — a general, free-for-all online forum —  to back the anti-Pythagoras claim. saying "it's a viewpoint". Position papers from all states will go the central government for consideration next.

On the no-egg, no-meat suggestion, the state's BJP government says there should be no controversy yet. "If you don't let such panels give recommendations, then what's the point of having them? Let us discuss, let us deliberate, let us decide on what's good for the people. The government has always been pro-people. It will do the right thing," Cabinet Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said.

The 'Health and Well Being' paper has been submitted by an eight-member panel that's led by John Vijay Sagar, head of the department of child and adolescent psychiatry at NIMHANS. It says, "Given the small body frame of Indians, any extra energy provided through cholesterol by regular consumption of egg and meat leads to lifestyle disorders... Studies conducted across the countries suggest that animal-based foods interfere with hormonal functions in humans."

However, meat-eating is increasing in India, as per the National Family Health Survey-5 conducted in 2019-21. It says more than 83 per cent of men and nearly 71 per cent of women in the 15-49 age group eat non-vegetarian food. That's an uptick of 5 per cent among men and 1 per cent among women since the previous survey.

Senior Congress leader Rizwan Arshad sees the panel's suggestion as an "imposition of ideology"  that could deprive poor children of essential protein. "Nearly 80 per cent of the country eats meat... The question is, if poor children are not given these food items, how will they develop? If the children are weak, you can imagine how healthy the country will be."

Food and Pythagoras aren't all; there's a controversy over language too. One of the panels wants the medium of instruction to be Kannada up to Class 5, as opposed to English or Hindi.

"This suggestion violates a Supreme Court order that allows schools to choose the medium," said Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka. "The panel never took anyone onboard before giving this recommendation."

These position papers are not binding, nor do the suggestions have to be taken onboard immediately. All such papers by committees in all states and UTs will go to the NCERT and the central government first.