The Education Ministry will be conducting a survey to assess the results of the School Breakfast Program.
Speaking at the Parliament on Tuesday, Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali said the School Breakfast Program is one of the most successful programs to be carried out to date. The minister said that over 49,000 students received their daily breakfast under the program, the government spent MVR 224 million on the project.
Speaking on the program's benefits, the minister said detailed research that assesses the program's impact has not been carried out thus far and only received feedback from students and parents.
'As per the feedback we receive from schools, teachers, parents, and other means, positive changes to students' education are already evident. We now know the students focus more in class,' the minister said.
The minister further said ailments such as headaches and fatigue in students are less due to the School Breakfast Program. She said the ministry hopes to resume the breakfast program next year, adding that proper research will be conducted to identify the program's impacts once the program is restarted.
The School Breakfast Program was launched in January 2019. Starting as a pilot project in 25 schools, it was later expanded to include all schools across the Maldives in June of the same year. However, the program was halted in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The program will be resumed in January next year.
