PARLIAMENT | A total of RM289 million has been allocated for the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT) next year for schoolchildren from hardcore poor families.

Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said RM250 million will be used to provide RM2.50 worth of food per pupil in the peninsula while RM3.00 would be spent for those in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan for 190 days, which is the minimum number of school days.

She said the remaining RM39 million would be used to supply milk or other foods.

"In 2018, a total of 489,117 students in 7,316 schools throughout the country received the RMT. The ministry is always working to improve education and health among students. In connection to this, various aids are being provided, including the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT)," she said during the question-and-answer session at the Senate session today.

Teo was replying to a question from Senator M. Sambanthan who asked how many students had benefited from the RMT.

She said the school heads, and Parents-Teachers’ Associations were responsible for monitoring the school canteens to make sure they provided nutritious food to the schoolchildren, and the contracts of canteen operators who provide unsatisfactory food would be terminated.

– Bernama