The controlling authorities in schools must place more emphasis and concern on the nutritional diets of school students as this contributes greatly to individual performance, says the Ministry of Education permanent secretary Dr Brij Lal.
Dr Lal stressed the importance of the need to change eating habits and understand nutritional requirements and added that consuming more healthy food will reduce the deleterious effects in the form of diseases and cancers from modern food.
“School canteens need to be monitoring the sale of junk food and review the policies to support healthy food contributing to a healthy nation,” Dr. Lal said.
This was the notion moved by the Education permanent secretary in opening the Education Forum for term 3.
The Ministry of Education is anticipating a successful new year with the pleasing 2013 budget allocation including the new allocation for the Teachers salary grant and the One Laptop per Child program.
Members of the forum included Directors from the education units, representatives from central, eastern, western and northern divisions, School Principals and other policy makers.
The following papers were tabled at the meeting:
-Study Training Leave Policy for education personnel
-Policy in effective Implementation of Inclusive Education in Fiji
-FEA clarifications on Power rates for schools/FIRCA clarifications/ Writing off of Water Bills
-Teaching of Vernacular in Primary and Secondary Schools/Paper on tasks and projects
Child Labor
With the beginning of the school holidays, the Permanent Secretary highlighted the urgency for the strict supervision of children during the holidays and the cooperation of parents.
-ENDS-