THE HUMAN rights commissioner overseeing children’s issues in Malaysia has renewed calls for a free, universal school meals programme, following news that the previous Pakatan Harapan Government axed such a plan.
Last month, former education minister Maszlee Malik revealed that his proposal to give free breakfast meals to school children three years ago was met with pushback from then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and then-finance minister Lim Guan Eng.
Lim has since clarified that the Cabinet wanted a targeted system instead of giving free meals to all children, raising concerns about wastage if children from “well-off” families turned them down.
Prof Datuk Noor Aziah Mohd Awal asked Lim to provide the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC), a unit parked under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), with the data of children in such families.
“Secondly, how sure is he that the food would be turned down? Well-off families do not necessarily mean or determine that they are feeding their children well or with healthy food.
“The project has not (even) kicked off yet. Assumptions would not help solve the issue,” the newly-reappointed SUHAKAM commissioner told FocusM.
Noor Aziah said it is the Government’s duty to provide necessities for children when their parents are not able to do so or if they are struggling to cope.
“Plus, there are more benefits when providing breakfast for children in schools,” she said. “The outcome will be long-term as it will benefit future generations and the country.”
The former SUHAKAM children’s commissioner also expressed disappointment that the programme was cancelled, adding that the OCC was not engaged by the Government over the decision.
According to news reports, the programme would have benefitted 2.7 mil primary school pupils nationwide in 2020, and cost the Government between RM800 mil to RM1.67 bil.
However, the education ministry under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Government cancelled the programme during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it would instead improve its existing food plans for students, such as the school milk and additional food programmes.
Benefits aplenty
Noor Aziah said there were many benefits to having a universal meals programme in primary and secondary schools, which ultimately aims at feeding children and teenagers healthy and nutritional food.
Children in Malaysia are among those who are obese, stunted and going through malnutrition problems, she noted.
Providing meals in schools also reduces school dropouts as it will induce students to stay in school if they have no food at home.
Furthermore, studies have shown that providing free meals to school students reduces instances of student misbehaviours and physical fights.
One research paper published in 2020, Free lunch for all? The impact of universal school lunch on student misbehaviour, found that schools that expanded free meals to a larger share of their student body experienced a greater reduction in misbehaviour.
However, Noor Aziah noted that fights in schools are indicative of other behavioural problems that are less likely to be measured or reported, such as intimidating behaviour or online bullying.
“Therefore, the research results are conservative in that they may understate the impact of a free, universal school meals programme on misbehaviour in schools and other behavioural problems,” she said.
Besides that, improvements to students’ social behaviour after having such a programme in place have also been reported, including reduced instances of drug abuse, inappropriate sexual behaviour, delinquency and property crime.
Noor Aziah pointed to the US as an example of a country that has successfully carried out such a programme. She cited their national school lunch and school breakfast programmes, which provide access to free or reduced-price meals for low-income students.
Students whose families’ incomes are below 130% and 185% of the US federal poverty line receive free or reduced-price meals, respectively, she explained.
However, as of May 2014, the program became universal, mandating that all schools in the US give more than 40% of their students a free lunch. – Aug 8, 2022
