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Parents with learners in both private and government schools will be required to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for compulsory milk in a bid to boost children’s health.
Under the new government compulsory milk feeding programme, school administrators, board of governors and school food committees, will be required to meet parents and agree on how much each learner will pay.
The assistant Commissioner of Private Schools and Institutions in the Ministry of Education, Mr George Muteekanga, yesterday told a joint planning meeting that the new programme starts this term in 13 local government schools in Mukono, Kampala and Wakiso and will be out to the rest of the country in January next year.
“The issue of paying [for school milk] is not my issue… the issue of who pays is the parent. How much does he or she pay, that is for the parent to agree with the schools. All we are saying is let’s have a learner take at least a cup of milk per day,” Mr Muteekanga said.
“The [school management] committees should ensure that parents participate, contribute and pay because at the end of the day, if you can pay school fees for a child, why is it that you cannot pay for something for your child to eat at school?” he asked.
Mr Muteekanga, however, said parents who are unable to pay through the school should be allowed to give learners money to buy milk from the school canteens during breakfast.
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