RM8 per day for rural school meals?

Why has the Ministry of Education reduced the budget per head of the much needed allocation for meals in rural boarding schools?

KUCHING: Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin must explain why the ministry  has reduced the per head cost of meal allocations for students in rural Sarawak.

Raising the issue at yesterday’s Sarawak Legislative Assembly sitting, Krian assemblyman Ali Biju described the current M8 per head per day meal allowance for rural category A primary boarding schools as “most unjust”.

He said as a result of the Ministry’s cutback, the food quality in these rural boarding schools had “drastically declined”.

“If you are shocked (at the reduced allocation), allow me to shock you further, my honourable colleagues.

“Are you aware that the quality of food has drastically declined in the past two years for rural boarding schools?

“The vast majority of rural primary school pupils are boarders, as we know.

“It has come to my attention that the ration provision for rural primary schools Category A has been reduced to RM8 person per day

“Let me break it down so you know exactly how much a pupil is entitled to: Breakfast RM1.20; Lunch RM2.40; Tea Break RM1.00; Dinner RM2.40; and Supper RM1.00.

“Would you feed your growing child RM8 per day?” he asked.

RM5 a day for meals?

Biju however was more concerned about how much of the RM8 actually trickled down to the students after suppliers and contractors took their respective cuts.

“Is it RM5 ringgit perhaps, and is this what we are spending on feeding our rural pupils on a daily basis?

“Inflation and the increase in food prices only mean that our rural children are fed very poor quality food.

“We do not need scientific data and research to tell us all that the nutritional value of meals for young and growing pupils are vital for their health and growth and ensuing academic performance,” he said.

Biju went on to demand an explanation from the Ministry as to why it  reduced the much needed food rations for rural schools.

“Give us a reasonable explanation as to why the need to reduce the ration, instead of increasing it in the light of the economic downturn and rising cost of food supplies, when the people who need it most are made to suffer unjustly,” said Biju.

He also called on the Ministry of Education to conduct a study into this blatant disregard for the health of Sarawakian pupils in the interior.

High illiteracy
On Wednesday, Ba Kelalan elected representative Baru Bian pointed out to the assembly the vital need to improve education services in the state, especially in the rural areas as it affected the quality of the Sarawak’s labour force.

He said although statistically, poverty in Sarawak had improved in 2012 compared to 2009, it was not  reflected on the ground. In 2009 poverty levels stood at 5.9%. This figure dropped to 2.4% in 2012.

“Whilst I would dearly like to believe this statistics, my observations during my trips in the rural areas and in the interior of Sarawak give me reason to doubt the accuracy of this figure.

“The standard of living of a population is causally related to their educational attainment, which in turn determines their levels in the occupational hierarchy.

“In Sarawak, even to this day, the indigenous people, with only primary education or a lack of formal education, are relegated to jobs at the bottom end of the occupational hierarchy such as skilled agricultural workers or elementary workers.

He said that Sarawakian labour force accounted for 35.4% of the country’s functionally illiterate workers.