Mr 40% talking

ALOR SETAR: A total of 36 primary and secondary schools in Kedah have been selected to pilot an Eco-Schools programme aimed at instilling environmental conservation awareness among students.

Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Mahathir today said the three-year programme beginning next year, would be organised by state investment arm Menteri Besar Kedah Incorporated, in cooperation with the Green Growth Asia Foundation (GGAF) and the state Education Department.

“Kedah is the second state to become involved in this programme after Melaka, and the selected schools will become ambassadors in their respective localities, as part of efforts to find solutions to environmental issues,” he said at a press conference here.

Under the guidance of GGAF representatives, the students and the rest of the population at these schools will be given exposure towards caring for and conserving the environment, and to become agents in ensuring the state’s environmental sustainability, he added.

Mukhriz had earlier launched the programme at the Alor Setar branch of the National Science Centre, with GGAF executive director Datuk Lim Sue Beng and state Chinese and Siamese Community Affairs, Science and Technology, Climate Change and Environment Committee chairman Simon Ooi Tze Min, present too.

The programme will also serve to educate students to embrace good habits, particularly in caring for the environment from a young age, Mukhriz added. – Bernama

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KUALA LUMPUR: Between RM800mil and RM1.67bil will be spent to provide free breakfasts to some 2.7 million primary school students nationwide next year, says Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik (pic).

“Seven schools in four states are participating in a pilot project between September and November involving between 47 and 2,380 students.

“The pilot project involves urban, rural and Orang Asli schools which will be used as guidance for the Free Breakfast Programme to be implemented in primary schools throughout the country in January next year, ” he told by Sabri Azit (PAS-Jerai) in Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Oct 9).

He said two modules will be used for the programme which involves two different sets of menus.

He said the first module would require 30 minutes with a menu of a combination of cooked food and fruits.

“The second module would require 10 minutes and involves a menu of a combination of diary or healthy beverages and ‘ready to eat’ or ‘on the go’ snacks such as bread, cereals, biscuits, cakes and boiled eggs, ” he added.

Besides providing nutritious and healthy breakfasts to students, Dr Maszlee said that the programme will also provide the opportunity for teachers and students to bond when having breakfast together.

“Teachers will be able teach their students on healthy eating, being civic and table manners, ” he said, adding that students will be made to wash their own utensils.

“It is also good news for the teachers involved in the programme as they too will be provided with free breakfast, ” he said.

He added that a standard operating procedure will be implemented to avoid incidences of food poisoning.

He said that his ministry is working closely with five ministries and agencies including non-governmental organisations to implement the programme.

Earlier, Dr Maszlee said that some 70% of students skipped breakfast while the World Bank’s Report on Realising Human Potential noted that incidences of stunted growth in Malaysia was high.

The minister had announced the free breakfast programme in August aimed at ensuring that primary school students were provided with a healthy meal to start their day.