Islamabad, Aug 26: Even though the new academic year began on August 15 with the reopening of schools, the Education Department has not delivered on its promise to provide milk packets to primary school students in government schools throughout Rawalpindi Division. This is a significant setback.
Sources within the Education Department revealed that Punjab’s dire financial situation, made worse by the allocation of Rs45 billion for electricity concessions, has resulted in the postponement of the milk distribution program. Originally planned to launch in all primary schools throughout Punjab, the program has now been scaled back.
Beginning in mid-September, two isolated South Punjabi districts will serve as test sites for the updated plan. The success of the pilot project and the availability of adequate funding will determine whether or not this milk distribution initiative is expanded to additional districts. There will be no milk served in any province school until at least August 31. The president of the Rawalpindi District Primary Schools Teachers’ Association, Abdul Rauf Kayani, expressed his dismay in an interview with The Express Tribune.
