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The Karnataka government has discontinued the distribution of ‘chikki’—a peanut and jaggery-based snack—in state-run schools due to concerns about its impact on children’s health.
A report from the Deputy Commissioner (School Education) of Dharwad raised issues regarding the high sugar content and unsaturated fats in chikki, which could negatively affect students’ well-being. Additionally, concerns over improper storage and cases of expired chikki being distributed further prompted the Department of School Education and Literacy to withdraw the snack with immediate effect.
Following this decision, schools have been instructed to provide eggs or bananas as alternatives under the Midday Meal Scheme.
Chikki was initially introduced in 2021 as a substitute for bananas for students who did not consume eggs. The Karnataka government had tasked the Karnataka Milk Federation with supplying chikki samples before launching the initiative in December that year.
This recent decision could impact nearly 8 lakh students across the state who previously opted for chikki as a nutritional supplement. However, data from the Department of Public Instruction, shared with The Indian Express in December 2022, revealed that only 2.27 lakh students chose chikki, while nearly 80% of the students preferred eggs as their midday meal supplement. The data was collected from government school students in Classes 1 to 8, a year after chikki was introduced as an alternative.
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