Free breakfast programme to kick off on Jan 20 in 100 schools

The first phase of the free breakfast programme (PSP) will be implemented on Jan 20, 2020, at 100 primary schools nationwide, said the Education Ministry (MOE).

The ministry said the cost of the project involving 37,000 pupils and 1,600 teachers on duty daily is estimated at RM22 million.

“The PSP will be held from 7am to 8.30am for the morning session and from 1pm to 4pm for the afternoon session according to the school management,” it said in a statement today.

MOE also said the implementation of the first phase of PSP will use the Grab ‘n’ Go concept which is made up of a milk or nutritious drink and snacks such as bread, biscuits, cereal, kuih, sandwich, fruits or hard-boiled eggs.

Elaborating further, it said the selection of schools for the first phase was made based on schools with the highest percentage of students from the B40 group and it also took into consideration all types of schools, namely national primary schools (SK), and both the Chinese and Tamil national-type primary schools (SJKC and SJKT).

The selection of schools was based on the total number of schools carrying out the Supplementary Food Programme in each state encompassing all locations, urban, rural and interior.

“The implementation also took into consideration the views of the Health Ministry which will allocate a nutrition science officer to each district to advise the school on the PSP menu.

“However, the parents’ permission is required to obtain consent and important information on the health of pupils such as an allergy to a certain food, so that alternative menu is provided,” it said.

The ministry is also planning to extend the programme to all 7,776 primary schools to benefit about 2.7 million students throughout the country.

However, it said the programme depended on the allocation received and the readiness of canteen operators and schools.

According to MOE, continuous monitoring would be conducted with the Health Ministry's co-operation to ensure the quality of the food achieves the desired impact.

“Effective study on the programme will be carried out and tabled to improve the programme from time to time,” it said.

The PSP is the latest initiative to provide nutritious food according to caloric value and a balanced diet to ensure pupils practise taking breakfast, a healthy lifestyle as well as to stimulate their growth.

- Bernama