PRICING GUIDELINES ON CANTEEN FOOD FOR STUDENTS

PRICING GUIDELINES ON CANTEEN FOOD FOR STUDENTS: 19.

Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Education (a) what are the Ministry's pricing guidelines on the sale of food to students in school canteens; (b) how does the Ministry balance the needs of the students and those of the canteen operators to meet their operating costs; (c) why are schools allowed to operate drinks vending machines which are a direct competition to the canteen stalls.

The Minister of State, Ministry of Education (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M) (for the Minister for Education): Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Education sets the general policy and guidelines on the management of school canteens. Schools are given the autonomy to manage their canteens within these guidelines and they seek to ensure that food sold in the canteen caters to the nutritional needs of students at reasonable prices.

MOE guidelines require every school to set up a School Canteen Committee (SCC), headed by the Principal. This Committee monitors food prices as well as portion sizes and considers stallholders’ requests for food price increases on a case-by-case basis. While they take into account the stall-holders’ operating costs and viability, the SSCs seek to ensure that food prices remain affordable and students get value for money. MOE regularly provides schools with information on the average price food items commonly sold in school canteens to help them determine if requests to raise food prices are reasonable.

The food prices in our school canteens are on average lower than in hawker centres and public eating places. In 2010, the average price for a typical meal comprising a cooked food item with a drink sold in a school canteen was $1.39 at primary school level and $1.98 at secondary level.

Needy students can continue to tap on various financial assistance schemes administered by the School Advisory Committee (SAC) or School Management Committee (SMC) that provide them with pocket money for meals or free breakfast. MOE recently topped up $4.7 million (between $10,000 and $15,000 per school) to the SAC or SMC funds to ensure that schools have sufficient funds for this purpose.

Schools may decide to install drink vending machines to complement stall offerings or to meet the needs of the students when the drink stalls are closed.

Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, I have received quite a lot of feedback from parents that the portions of food sold in the school canteens have shrunk. Instead of buying one portion, they have to buy two portions and even three portions. I wonder whether MOE has received this feedback and if there is any action to be taken.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Sometimes, the portions shrink because after my visits to the schools, I tell them that there is really too much for the child to eat. It is not always because of prices. I think the Member has to look at which schools we are talking about. If the situation is due to a way for the school canteen stallholders to profit from smaller portions, we will certainly take action.