Over 700,000 students benefitted from school milk programme, says Fadhlina

MELAKA: The School Milk Programme, implemented by the Education Ministry in collaboration with synergistic partners, including dairy producer, Farm Fresh Bhd, has benefitted 753,054 students from 7,398 primary schools nationwide.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the programme, conducted under the Supplementary Food Programme, aims to combat and address multidimensional poverty issues, particularly those closely related to malnutrition among students from B40 families.

"Every child is entitled to receive balanced nutritional intake. Children who receive nutritious food will grow up healthy and capable of fully realising their potential.

"Therefore, the Education Ministry is constantly giving serious attention to malnutrition issues among school children, and among its initiatives are the Supplementary Food Programme, Nutritious Meal Programme (HiTS), and the School Milk Programme,” she told reporters after officiating the National School Milk Day Carnival here on Saturday (May 25).

Fadhlina said the primary objective of implementing the milk programme is to cultivate the practice of consuming milk or dairy products in students’ diets, especially those from low-income families, thereby shaping a healthy and active generation.

She said advocacy programmes related to the importance of balanced food intake among primary school students are crucial and should be continued, such as the National School Milk Day Carnival to raise awareness of these issues.

Earlier during the event, Fadhlina also presented several awards, including for the National Subsidised Milk Competition and the Best Supplementary Programme and School Milk Programme Management Competition at the national level. - Bernama