12,000 students to benefit from special school breakfast drive

KARACHI: Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has announced joining hands with a leading non-profit to provide free-of-charge breakfast facilities at selected schools in Karachi that enrol children from underprivileged communities, thereby initially benefitting 12,000 students at 100 schools after the summer holidays.

The governor has announced the launch of his special initiative to fulfil the nutritional requirements of children from deprived families in partnership with the non-profit Saylani Welfare International Trust.

He informed media persons that 100 schools in Karachi would initially be covered under the special breakfast drive, which would later be expanded to other parts of Sindh.

Tessori said that the free breakfast programme is a step towards ensuring food security in the country, which is also one of the objectives of the Special Investment Facilitation Council established in accordance with the vision of the incumbent chief of the army staff.

The governor said that a proper website would be launched in order to facilitate schools to register themselves for the breakfast programme for their respective students.

He lamented that a large number of children go to school without having proper breakfast at home due to serious economic hardships faced by their parents. In such a situation, he pointed out, students with empty stomachs are unable to concentrate on their studies at school.

He appealed to the concerned philanthropists to come forward and join this valuable charitable initiative aimed at fulfilling the food needs of school students from underserved families.

He mentioned that like other special welfare and training initiatives launched by the Governor House, no money would be spent by the public exchequer to serve breakfast at selected schools.

He told the media persons that after the mass IT education programme launched for students from middle- and low-income families, the breakfast drive would be another special welfare initiative launched by the Governor House.

Tessori said that 10 educational institutions in Karachi would be transformed into model schools, where all due facilities would be available to fulfil the healthcare, nutritional, academic, extracurricular and sporting needs of students.

Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui praised the Sindh governor and Saylani Trust founder Maulana Muhammad Bashir Farooq Qadri for joining hands for a special welfare drive for school-going children.

Dr Siddiqui said they had requested the governor to assist in enrolling the children who had been out of school due to poverty, and whose food requirements also remained unfulfilled. The standards of the education sector need to be improved to ensure the country’s progress and development, he added.

Maulana Qadri expressed gratitude to the Sindh governor for donating Rs10 million to launch the special breakfast drive for school-going children. He said that in addition to the healthy ingredients of the breakfast, the beneficiary children of the upcoming drive would be served milk and fruits.