File photo showing a primary school in Matu located in Sarawak.
MELAKA: A thin Year Two schoolboy watched as pupils rushed to the canteen to buy food and drinks during the recess at his school.
From one of his trouser pockets, he took out a plastic-wrapped curry puff, ate the food, went to a tap and drank some water.
A 43-year-old civil servant, who wanted to be identified only as Ahmad, recalled this scenario as he talked of his primary school days in the 80s.
“I have many younger siblings. Our father will give us each just 20 sen to take to school. It was enough to buy two curry puffs. I will eat one before the school session starts and keep the other one for recess.
“As there was not enough money to buy drinks, I had to go with just tap water,” Ahmad told Bernama.
He said his father was just a general worker and his mother was a housewife and they could only afford to give each of their children 20 sen a day to take to school.
Ahmad said the present economic and living standards of the people may have improved tremendously but there are pupils who still stay away from the school canteen during recess because they have no money with them.
The father of two children, speaking to Bernama at a school in Bukit Katil, welcomed the announcement that the Education Ministry will introduce the Free Breakfast Programme for primary schools next year.
Another parent, Shaharim Sulong, 42, said the programme will not only ease the financial burden of the poor families but also bring some convenience to working parents.
“With the programme, busy parents will not have to worry about what food their children will consume even if they cannot prepare healthy food at home for them to take to school,” said the information technology executive at a government agency in Ayer Keroh.
He said that parents at work cannot monitor what their children consume at school and after they return home from school.
The father of four said he would give his children pocket money only on school days to buy breakfast and lunch because his wife is also working.
He also said that the initiative of the Education Ministry to inculcate disciplinary and civic values in the programme is a good move to instill excellent personal values in the young. – Bernama