Dr. Aishath Ali, the Minister of Education, claims that MVR 224 million has been invested in the school breakfast program, which she describes as one of the most successful initiatives of the present administration. On Tuesday morning, Aishath was summoned to the Parliament to address questions from parliamentarians. In response to a question from Dhiggaru MP Ikram Hassan, she stated that the initiative had previously provided breakfast to an average of 49,000 school pupils on a daily basis.
“The breakfast program is actually one of the most successful programs conducted by our administration. The administration has now spent approximately MVR 224 million on this,” she said.
According to Aishath, the initiative has resulted in beneficial changes in students’ studies, and the Education Ministry aims to conduct research on it next year.
“That is, the students are very focused on their studies. Cases where students complain of tiredness, stomachache or headache are low compared to before,” she said.
Aishath said that attendance and punctuality has also gotten better since the program was introduced.
“Because having breakfast with their friends is a very happy time for the students. And the students also have the energy to participate in extracurricular activities at the school,” she said.
The school breakfast program, on the other hand, has been heavily criticized by the opposition.
The program, according to Male’ City Councilman Ibrahim Shujau, is a major waste of taxpayer money.
“This was done in manner which is beneficial to their party people. They could have run this program better if they wanted to improve the health and wellbeing of students. They don’t know how to get things done,” said Shujau, who is deputy leader of opposition PNC.
He made the remark after the Education Ministry announced in July that the program will be suspended this year.