‘Islamabad students to get free meal in school

Islamabad : Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood Wednesday inaugurated a school meal programme for 25,000 students of 100 federal public primary schools under the ‘School Khana Programme’.

The meal will be provided by the Allah Walah Trust ensuring quality standards to cater to the nutritional needs of students.

Minister Shafqat thanked the Allah Wale Trust and said the programme would be expanded to other schools as well. He said many students did not come to school due to poverty and many came without having their breakfasts.

The minister said the initiative would not only ensure the attendance of students but also guarantee the good health of the children. He said he met with Unicef Director and expressed the government’s resolve to expand this free meal model to other schools.

Shahid Lone, chairman of the local trust, said the food was being taken to nutrition malls to provide the children with nutritious food.

Meanwhile, Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas said the free meals programme had been expanded from 20 to 30 schools in Lahore under the public-private partnership. He said the government would take the number of such schools to 100.

The minister claimed that the initiative would improve the health of students. Dr Raas invited philanthropists to be a part of the free meals program