School feeding project extended another 6 months
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry has extended the school feeding programme for another six months (January-June) for children in underprivileged areas.
The ministry recently sent a letter to the Director General of The Directorate of Primary Education to resume the feeding programme project which ended in December last year.
The ministry also asked the DG of the directorate to submit a plan for a new project within one month.
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Manzoor Ahmed, professor emeritus of Brac University, welcomed the ministry initiative, saying the project is very much needed in these times.
The government should continue the project on a large scale to curb school dropout and keep children healthy, he said.
In 2002, a larger school feeding programme was launched for flood-affected families in Jashore as an emergency response. In 2010, with the assistance of the World Food Programme, the school feeding programme was initiated nationally level and continued uninterrupted until 2014.
From 2014 to 2021, the project was extended multiple times.
The primary and mass education ministry spent Tk4,991 crore on the feeding programme from 2010 to 2021. Around five crore students have benefited from the school feeding programme since 1990, said ministry sources.
Children got cooked meals in 14 upazilas while elsewhere they were provided vitamin-enriched biscuits weighing 75 grams each.
