‘Monitor free breakfast menu’
KUALA LUMPUR: An economist has proposed that the Education Ministry monitor the menu offered to 2.7 million pupils under its Free Breakfast Programme.
Perak Economic Advisory Council chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Annuar Zaini said this was to ensure the ministry’s goal of providing nutritious breakfast to pupils was achieved.
He said it would help the ministry craft the right menu and prevent wastage.
The government will spend between RM800 million and RM1.67 billion for the programme.
“There must be daily or weekly reviews to prevent the ministry from offering menus that waste the resources,” he told the New Straits Times.
Speaking from his experience in the hotel and hospitality industry, he said he had urged hotel operators and caterers not to offer dishes “that customers hardly pick or touch”.
He raised concerns that the menu offered under the programme, which will be implemented next year, would not meet the expectations of 40 per cent of the pupils, who were from well-to-do families. “The programme was introduced as a result of a study involving children from poor families.
“To ensure its effectiveness, the ministry should avoid generalisation.
“It should, instead, extend the survey to take into consideration the input of children from well-to-do families to find out why some pupils skip breakfast.
“Maybe it’s because they do not have time to have their meal early in the morning, and not due to economic reason.”
Earlier this month, Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik announced that seven schools in four states were participating in a pilot project for the programme, which started last month and will end next month.