NewsWhore
02-07-2011, 06:40 PM
The Ministry of Education has announced the indefinite cancellation of the school breakfast program. Education Minister Melanio Paredes said the decision came after a recommendation by President Leonel Fernandez himself, on the grounds that if the program could not be guaranteed, it was better off being suspended.
The decision came following more food poisoning cases that were reported when the program was restarted after being suspended since the Christmas holidays. Last year 350 children were reported to have suffered food poisoning, the largest number in the 14 years of the program. Upon making the announcement, the Minister mentioned a "chain of complicities" that had been discovered in the supply lines meant food poisoning cases could recur.
The program costs taxpayers RD$18 million a day. The Ministry has yet to release results of investigations that have determined the causes of the problems.
Former President Hipolito Mejia attributed the food poisoning cases to the bad quality of the supplies. He said that the school breakfast is affected by corruption and is seen as more of a business than a social program.
Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez mentioned the problem was in the "mixes" formulated for the breakfasts.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
The decision came following more food poisoning cases that were reported when the program was restarted after being suspended since the Christmas holidays. Last year 350 children were reported to have suffered food poisoning, the largest number in the 14 years of the program. Upon making the announcement, the Minister mentioned a "chain of complicities" that had been discovered in the supply lines meant food poisoning cases could recur.
The program costs taxpayers RD$18 million a day. The Ministry has yet to release results of investigations that have determined the causes of the problems.
Former President Hipolito Mejia attributed the food poisoning cases to the bad quality of the supplies. He said that the school breakfast is affected by corruption and is seen as more of a business than a social program.
Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez mentioned the problem was in the "mixes" formulated for the breakfasts.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)