Learning through free meals

AS a parent and former teacher, I implore Malaysia’s newest Education Minister Dr Radzi Jidin to reconsider instituting the free breakfast programme for all national primary school students. In view of his commitment to ensuring a higher standard for the Malaysian education system, it is important to note that students cannot maximise their fullest potential without first having their physiological needs met.

Echoing similar findings by Khazanah Research Institute’s recently published discussion paper on school feeding, I can attest to having had students show up at school hungry and unable to concentrate on lessons because they neither had time nor the appetite to eat. As such, it is my strong belief that a universal breakfast programme should be instated in Malaysian schools for the benefit of all students.