RM2.50 per pupil too little for school meals, says KJ

 

School meals are provided under the supplementary food programme for primary school pupils in the peninsula at a rate of RM2.50 per pupil, the health minister said. (Bernama pic)

CYBERJAYA: The health ministry has proposed that spending be increased on school meals for primary pupils, to RM4 per pupil in Peninsular Malaysia and RM5 in East Malaysia.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the education ministry’s current allocation of RM2.50 per pupil in the peninsula and RM3 in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan was insufficient to cover the cost of raw materials.

“It is not the education ministry’s fault as its allocations are insufficient. It is also due to rising costs of raw materials and other goods in the country,” he told a media conference after visiting Malaysia’s first central clinical oncology research laboratory here today.

Khairy said he would submit a recommendation to the Cabinet for a higher meal allocation to ensure that pupils are served nutritious food.

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He said only 61% of schools that were monitored from January to June this year complied with the set menu for the supplementary food programme.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin on a visit to Malaysia’s first central clinical oncology research laboratory in Cyberjaya today. (Bernama pic)

Khairy said the education ministry would also propose that assistance under the supplementary food programme continue to be given to some 789,902 pupils from poor families.

The oncology research laboratory, set up by Chicago-based Hematogenix company, caters for the Asia-Pacific region, covering Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

Khairy said the laboratory provided added value to his ministry because it can be used for diagnostic purposes and cancer screening in Malaysia, in addition to sending samples from clinical research conducted in the country. - FMT