Mid-day meal at pry schools to resume in Sept last

Mid-day meals at primary schools in 150 upazilas will be resumed in September last or October first, said Primary and Mass Education Adviser Prof Dr. Bidhan Ranjan Roy Podder on Sunday.

”The related works is going on, it will resume in 150 upazilas soon,” the adviser responded during queries of the reporters at the Secretariat.

The government will reintroduce the meals at primary schools after a gap of two years with the view to ramping up school attendance and bringing down the dropout rate.

The meals include egg, fruits, biscuit, milk, etc.

”To ensure learning at schools, we need to focus on ‘contact hours’ – the amount of time teachers spend with students. This depends on how many days schools remain open. Currently, schools operate around 180 days out of 365, which is far too low,”Bidhan Ranjan Roysaid.

”There are many unnecessary holidays. We’re working jointly with the Ministry of Education to rationalise the academic calendar. This must be a coordinated effort.”