Do you remember waking up bleary-eyed, scarfing down breakfast, and rushing off to school? While this is something a lot of us still do (even us working adults), primary schoolchildren will no longer have to worry about their first meal of the day. In a statement released on his Facebook page yesterday, Education Minister Maszlee Malik said that there will be free breakfast for all children in primary schools throughout Malaysia from January 2020.
As part of the ministry’s efforts to make sure that school children have access to nutritious food, the Education Ministry will be launching this special programme whereby the school children will be served healthy food. The move was met with mixed responses. Some said it is a good initiative and that it would help a lot of people, particularly students from poorer families.
Another Twitter user suggested that monitoring the move to ensure clean, healthy and fresh food was essential. Ideas are always good, but implementation also plays a big role.
At the same time, there were also others who questioned the decision, with some asking what time students are expected to go to school for their breakfast. As it is, there are students who have to wake up as early as 5.30 a.m. to reach school on time. Will regular school hours be disrupted by this plan? How will canteen operators manage this new move? As of yet, there have been no further details on how the plan will be carried out.
What are your thoughts and suggestions about this new move?
