Daily Times

Giving credit where’s due, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif deserves appreciation from all corners for introducing a groundbreaking milk programme for school children aimed at improving the nutritional intake of young minds across the province.

Quite expectedly, this initiative stirred up a whirlwind of controversy and excitement, dividing the commentators into two groups: one defending the programme as a beacon of hope, especially in light of frightening statistics about malnutrition among school children and the other dabbling in the usual splashing of muddied waters.

Studies conducted from across the world lend credence to the claim that school feeding programmes play a critical role in encouraging the poorest families to send their sons, and especially their daughters to school so that they do not have to worry about their nourishment for at least part of the day.

Time and again, experts have called on the governments to take a page out of India’s playbook, whose Midday Meals Scheme, the largest school feeding programme in the world, eliminated daily protein deficiency and decreased calorie deficiency by almost 30 per cent and daily iron deficiency by nearly 10 per cent in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Launched in the most impoverished districts, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanput and Muzaffargarh, CM Nawaz intends to send out a loud and clear message to all that she seeks to offer everyone a chance for a brighter future. The real test now lies in ensuring that these children benefit from this equally.

Only by keeping a strict check on the implementation of the programme that established accountability in the operations and minimised political interference by the relevant office-bearers, the chief minister can help thousands of children stay in school, encouraging many more to follow suit. A glass of milk not only provides instant energy but also symbolizes an opportunity to tackle a wide range of governance issues. *