Federal Minister for Education, Professional Training, National Heritage and Culture Shafqat Mahmood has launched today, free of cost, School Meal Program between FDE and Allah Waley Trust
( AWT) for twenty five thousand students of hundred primary schools, initially, on daily basis.
Talking to media on this occasion, Federal Minister Shafqat Mahmood said this was the first drop of the rain and on next stage, we would expand this program to all primary schools of Islamabad. He said that ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training was conducting a study of all available models of School Meal Program in the world, before expanding this program at the country level. He added that AWT would ensure quality of food, safety, protection and hygiene of provided meal up to the recommended food safety standards and this program would also help stunted growth issue of poor students.
He said this program will help to mitigate out of school children issue by increasing ratio of enrolment as was observed in Lahore. He said the incumbent government, earlier, was providing stipend up to primary level to poor family students but now stipend would be given up to intermediate level and all these measures were being taken to address the out of school children issue which were more than twenty million children in the country.
Federal Minister Shafqat Mahmood expressed his gratitude to the Chairman AWT Mr. Shahid Lone who without any inordinate desire serving the public and children. Federal Minister Shafqat Mahmood also thanked to Senator Fozia, Education Secretary Naheed Durrani, Additional Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani and DG FDE Dr. Ikram who took special interest in launching of this program.
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