ZCZC
BSS-16
PRIMARY SCHOOL-MEAL
ECNEC to consider Tk 17,290.23cr primary school meal project
DHAKA, May 31, 2021 (BSS) – The government has initiated a big move to bring all the students of primary schools under school meal operations in phases to ensure their nutrition and sound health alongside imparting them education.
The Directorate of Primary Education under the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has formulated a draft project to this end titled “Primary School Meal” project with an estimated cost of Taka 17,290.23 crore.
The project will be implemented by June 2026 at 492 upazilas and 21 Education thanas under all the 64 districts of eight divisions.
“The project is scheduled to be placed before the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) tomorrow,” said a senior Planning Commission official.
ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will preside over the meeting virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence while ministers, state ministers, planning commission members and secretaries concerned will join the meeting from the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
The official told BSS that the project aims to bring all the Primary school students under the school meal programme by 2030 in phases to ensure their nutrition, sound health and thus contributing to social safety nets.
“Besides, the project also targets to reduce the drop out of students at Primary level side by side increasing the enrollment rate and school presence rate,” said the official adding that the entire fund of the project will come from the state exchequer.
The project is also the highest priority project of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and it was also included in the revised ADP of the current fiscal year without any allocation.
Another official at the Planning Commission said that this project would play an important role in meeting the daily nutrition demand of the primary school students through having high nutrition fortified biscuits and necessary micronutrient, necessary protein and calorie-enriched cooked hot food.
This will ultimately result in ensuring almost cent percent enrollment of students as well as reducing the dropout rate of students and thus contributing to the development of standard of education, added the official.
The main project operations include procurement, transportation and inspection of some 11,11,044 metric tons of rice, lentil, edible oil, biscuit, spices and vegetables, necessary maintenance cost, godown rent, transportation, salaries of cooks, necessary publication, procurement of petrol, oil, lubricant, gas, computer equipment and furniture.
Meanwhile, the other projects likely to be considered in the meeting are upgrading the Kushtia to Meherpur portion of Kushtia (Trimohoni)-Meherpur-Chuadanga-Jhenidah (R-745) regional highway into due standard and width with Taka 643.02 crore, Construction of various infrastructural establishments of newly created Narayanganj (62 BGB) with Taka 237.21 crore.
The other projects likely to be placed in the meeting are Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Space Observation Center with Taka 213.38 crore, Bangladesh Economic Zones Development Project, 1st phase, 3rd revised, Capacity enhancing of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority with Taka 88.05 crore, Integrated rural employment assistance project for rural women, 2nd phase with Taka 346.55 crore, Char development and settlement project-4 (additional financing) with Taka 106.85 crore, Riverbank protection of Meghna at Borokheri and Ludhuabazar under Ramgoti and Kamalnagar upazilas and Kaderpandit Hut with Taka 3,089.97 crore, and Matarbari Ultra Super Critical Coal Fired Power Project (PGCB portion: Matarbari-Modunaghat 400 KV transmission line), revised project.
BSS/SPL/GM/RY/1640hrs