Single-Operator System in School Canteens

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Education following the introduction of the single tender system whereby one operator is appointed to run some of the school canteen stalls (a) how has this affected the prices of food and drinks offered at the school canteen; (b) how many school canteens are run under this single tender system; (c) how is the individual stall operator system more advantageous than the single-operator system; and (d) whether the Ministry will continue to ensure that the individual stall operator system continues to operate to provide jobs for small business operators.

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Mr Heng Swee Keat: Schools are given the autonomy to manage their canteens within guidelines set by the Ministry of Education.

Currently, around 75% of school canteen stalls are leased directly to individual stallholders under the Individual Stallholders System. The remaining 25% of canteens are contracted to vendors under the Single Tender System. Most of these vendors, in turn, sublet the stalls to individual stallholders. These vendors also undertake canteen administration on behalf of the schools.

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Recent survey results showed that overall satisfaction is comparable for the two systems in letting out canteen stalls. The average canteen food prices are slightly higher under the Single Tender System, by about 5% for primary and 7% for secondary schools. Given the schools' experience, MOE will encourage more schools to adopt the Individual Stallholders System.

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