STU welcomes free breakfast but wants no part in programme
KUCHING: Do it right but don’t pass the buck to the teachers, said Sarawak Teachers Union (STU).
As it is, teachers are already having their hands full, another task will be an added burden, said STU president Macky Joseph, who insisted that the Education Ministry (MOE) must find a way to seriously monitor the quality of food and drinks served to schoolchildren without involving the teachers.
Last Friday, MOE announced that the first phase of its free breakfast programme (PSP) would be implemented next Jan 20 at 100 primary schools nationwide.
STU president Macky Joseph welcomed the gesture but strongly urged MOE to not lay the responsibility on teachers, saying: “We (STU) do not agree with assigning teachers to be on duty in the programme.”
“It will be much better for the teachers to deal with their core business, that is teaching and learning.” Apart from that, Macky foresaw additional paper work and reporting with documentation, and urged that teachers be awarded ample time to plan lessons.
“Furthermore, STU hopes to see the programme being extended to all deserving children as soon as possible.”
In the statement, MOE further mentioned the cost of the project, which involved 100 schools — 37,000 pupils and 1,600 teachers on duty daily, was estimated at RM22 million.
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.
To which Macky responded, “They (MOE) should not use financial allocation as an excuse because a detail study would have been done prior to the launching of the project.
“There should be no segregation during this process.”
The statement also added that the PSP would 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.
MOE also said the implementation of the first phase would use the concept of “Grab ‘n’ Go” which is made up of a milk drink or nutritious drink and snacks such as bread, biscuits, cereals, kuih, sandwiches, fruits or hard boiled eggs.
“The implementation also took into consideration the views of the Health Ministry (MOH) which will allocate a nutrition science officer to each district to advise the school on the PSP menu.
“However, the permission of parents is required to obtain consent and important information on the health of pupils such as allergy to certain food so that an alternative menu is provided,” the statement said.
