Dhaka: State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has announced that the primary objective of the school feeding programme is to ensure all children of primary-school age are enrolled in educational institutions. During an orientation programme for head teachers and a discussion on the Feeding Programme in Government Primary Schools for Improving the Quality of Primary Education held at the Chattogram Primary Teachers Training Institute (PTI), Hajjaj emphasized the importance of not leaving out any child aged four to ten years from education.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the state minister highlighted that the government has initiated several measures to achieve universal primary education. The current 'School Feeding' programme, which is in its pilot phase, is set to be rebranded as the 'Mid-Day Meal' programme. This initiative aims to motivate parents to enroll their children in school by providing them with nutritious meals upon arrival.
The comprehensive school feeding or mid-day meal programme is scheduled to commence in January next year, targeting around 1.1 crore primary school students who will receive nutritious meals daily. Hajjaj also mentioned that under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the government is planning significant advancements in the education sector, including increasing the education budget. Within the first four months of taking office, the government has raised education expenditure to 2 percent of GDP, with a long-term goal of reaching 5 percent.
The programme was chaired by Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah, with other notable speakers including Divisional Commissioner Dr Md Ziauddin, Additional Director General of the Department of Primary and Mass Education Md Abdur Rahim, Project Director of the Feeding Programme in Primary Schools Md Abul Amin, and Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Rajib Kumar Sarkar.
In a subsequent question-and-answer session, Bobby Hajjaj engaged with the head teachers present. The orientation was attended by head teachers from 110 government primary schools in Anwara Upazila of Chattogram, along with PTI officials, students, and media representatives.