Parents worried about small meals
On December 12, Mr. Nguyen Kim Hoi, Principal of Nguyen Dinh Chieu Primary School, Ward 8, Ca Mau City, said that the school is reviewing the meal supply contract with the supplier and making an explanatory report according to the direction of the Department of Education and Training (GD&DT) of Ca Mau City.
Previously, Ms. PTD, a parent whose child is studying at Nguyen Dinh Chieu Primary School, reported the quality of her child's boarding meals. Ms. D. said that her child had lost weight and often complained about the quality of the meals. After investigating, Ms. D. was heartbroken by the poor quality of her child's meals at school, saying that it was difficult to ensure nutrition for students. Specifically, on December 11, 2024, the meals for students at her child's school included rice, taro soup with meat, and duck stewed in coconut water. However, each meal contained only 1 piece of duck meat, 2 small pieces of taro, and a large amount of soup. The previous days were similar, such as on December 10, 2024, the children's meals only included rice, squash soup, and a piece of fried egg.
According to Mr. Nguyen Kim Hoi, the school has more than 800 boarding students, with a fee of 44,000 VND/day divided according to regulations. Of which, 3,000 VND is for electricity, drinking water and domestic water; 8,000 VND for organized activities, the remaining 33,000 VND is allocated for lunch and snacks. Specifically, lunch costs 24,000 VND, snacks cost 9,000 VND with the menu usually consisting of cakes, milk... The school signed a contract with Ca Mau Guest House, which has provided meals for the school for the past 7 years. Mr. Hoi admitted that there were cases of uneven meals, which had happened on previous days. "Each student is given a lunch tray. If there is a shortage of food, the service staff will supplement it. However, due to the large number of students, the distribution is sometimes uneven. The school has repeatedly reminded Ca Mau Guest House and invited this unit to work to fix it," said Mr. Hoi.
The education sector stepped in to check and clarify
Responding to the press, Ms. Chau Anh, Deputy Director of Ca Mau Guest House (the unit providing meals for Nguyen Dinh Chieu Primary School) said that meat, fish, vegetables and fruits are purchased from establishments with clear registration and contracts to ensure food hygiene and safety.
Ms. Chau Anh also admitted that the uneven distribution of food rations was the fault of this unit, not related to the school. The unit will learn from experience and commit to correcting the situation in the future.
Regarding the incident, on December 12, Mr. Le Minh Tri, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ca Mau City, said that the department had noted the issue of parents reporting that the boarding meals had little food. The fault first came from the unit providing the meals, however, the school was also irresponsible in this matter. “The Department of Education and Training will meet with the leaders of Nguyen Dinh Chieu Primary School and the remaining 3 schools that organize boarding meals in the area to clarify the issue that parents reported. Thereby, we will draw experience in organizing boarding meals for students in the entire area. We request that schools re-examine their food supply contracts to ensure nutrition for the children and strengthen the management of the quality of meals,” Mr. Le Minh Tri added.
Need "specialization"
Mr. NHT, a parent whose child is studying at the school, said that the children are growing up and need to improve their physical strength from main meals, especially lunch at school. Therefore, the children's meals need to have a suitable menu, attract and stimulate students to eat well. Moreover, it is necessary to ensure enough nutrition and energy for the children to study and exercise all day. "The children's daily menu needs to have the professional opinion of school nutrition experts. To do so, the school should find reliable partners who are reputable professional school meal suppliers. With current digital technology, parents can still monitor their children's meals from afar. In big cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho... this has been done for a long time, Ca Mau should refer to and learn" - Mr. NHT said.
Decision 2195/QD-BGDDT in 2022 of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates school meals for primary school students as follows:
The school meal menu needs to ensure a variety of foods, including stir-fried dishes, savory dishes, soups, and desserts. It should have at least 10 different types of food, with at least 5 of the 8 food groups recommended by the World Health Organization, of which the fat group is mandatory. Including: food groups rich in protein (meat, fish, seafood, eggs, beans, etc.), fat (cooking oil, lard), carbohydrates (rice, noodles, pho, vermicelli, etc.), vegetables, fruits, and milk.
In addition, Decision 2195 also recommends that the amount of kcal in meals for primary school students be provided in the following ratio:
- Protein provides about 13% - 20% of dietary energy.
- Fat (lipid) provides about 20% - 30% of dietary energy.
- Starch (glucid) provides about 55% - 65% of dietary energy.
In addition to energy, protein, fat and carbohydrates, it is necessary to ensure adequate supply of important micronutrients such as calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E and fiber.
Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/nganh-giao-duc-vao-cuoc-kiem-tra-sau-thong-tin-suat-an-hoc-sinh-qua-te.html
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