Our Readers' Opinions
February 1, 2013

Feed the children; the programme is for them!

Fri, Feb 01, 2013

Editor: I was happy when the Hon. Girlyn Miguel mentioned in Parliament that no child should be deprived of lunch on the School Feeding Program, whether or not they pay for the lunch.{{more}}

Thank you, Mrs Miguel. I know of a primary school that deprives children of lunch if they do not pay. A particular child I know of has a single parent who is poor, a single mother struggling to mind him and his siblings. Yet, when that child has no money to pay, he is not given lunch. It seems as though the rule in that primary school is: “No payment, no lunch!” The child goes around begging other children for a portion of their lunch. That is not fair to that needy child. He should be given lunch, whether or not he pays.

The cooks and most teachers are well aware of that child’s family’s economic situation. Of course, parents who can afford should pay for their children’s lunch to support the Feeding Program. Further, it seems that some children may be treated spitefully if the cooks do not like the parents of those children. Such children may be given a reduced amount of food deliberately by the cooks, leaving the children hungry.
 
Then too, there is the matter of certain cooks and teachers taking the foodstuff from the Feeding Program for themselves. I’ve heard reliable reports of teachers taking chunks of cheese, macaroni, tinned beef, and other stuff, putting such in their vehicles, or giving them to someone else (friend/relative), after which they collect them at the end of school to take home.

Maybe some stricter measures are needed by the ones responsible for the School Feeding Program; they should seriously look into these matters and rectify the problems where possible. Things seem to be really out of hand with the School Feeding Program in some primary schools.

Pretty Much Concerned

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