Govt Launches Free School Meals Program For Children in Islamabad

Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Shafqat Mehmood, on Wednesday launched the Free School Meals Program for children studying in government-run educational institutions in Islamabad. Under the initiative, the Government will provide free meals to 23,000 students of 100 public primary schools in Islamabad.

The School Meals Program will provide students with free lunches by the Allah Walah Trust (AWT). The initiative is being deployed in 100 public primary schools, where 23,000 students in Islamabad will be given free meals, however, the Federal Education Minister, Shafqat Mehmood, said that this facility will be extended to all primary schools across the capital soon.

“In first phase, the food will be provided to primary school children, and soon it will be introduced in all primary schools across Islamabad.” said Shafqat Mehmood. He added that poverty is one of the many reasons that prevent children from going to schools, adding that School Meals Program has increased the attendance and admission levels in Punjab besides improving students’ health and he hoped that the program would yield similar results in Islamabad.

Shafqat Mehmood added that he met with UNICEF Director and expressed the Government’s resolve to expand the School Meals Program to the rest of the country. However, there are problems due to lack of budget for the programme at a larger scale.

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