Clampdown on school lunch corruption needed, says Interior Minister

[webfact]

Clampdown on school lunch corruption needed, says Interior Minister

By The Nation

 

 

With nationwide probes over alleged corruptions in free lunch programmes underway, Interior Minister General Anupong Paojinda on Tuesday said all Thailand’s public schools are advised to alter their contracts with private caterers.

 

Anupong said the schools should add a condition to the contracts that allows for revocation or other measures in the event that pupils’ lunches are of insufficient quantity or quality.

 

As well, a district-level committee should be established to regularly conduct random and impromptu checks on school meals. Also, food caterers must make public the day’s menu list to ensure that everyone is aware, he said. Anupon urged parents to help keep an eye on the school-meal programmes.

 

If corruption occurred over school lunches, the culprits would face punishment under both criminal and civil codes, along with disciplinary punishment if a state official was involved, Anupon added.

 

A day earlier, Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC) secretary-general Suthep Chittayawong revealed that he had ordered primary educational service area offices nationwide to check on the free lunch programmes for kindergarten and primary pupils in their jurisdictions. They must ensure the programmes were implemented with transparency and fairness and must report back to OBEC by July 22. If there were irregularity allegations, the school director and the respective primary educational service area office must launch a fact-finding probe and proceed with steps to punish the wrongdoers, he added.

 

At least four schools in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima had supplied students with substandard lunches due to possible irregularities, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC)’s Region 3 office had discovered.

 

Suthep said that his office had already contacted the NACC for the information to take actions against the schools.

 

Suthep’s comment on Monday and Anupong’s comment on Tuesday responded to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s order on Sunday for the Education Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the NACC to solve the issue of alleged corruption in free lunch programmes at schools nationwide. 

 

NACC’s Region 3 office had randomly checked on schools in Nakhon Ratchasima’s 32 districts, said office executive Mongkol Sarisut. The four schools – whose names have not been released by the NACC –were now being probed after various irregularities were discovered. One issue involved less than half of the school lunch budget being spent to buy cooking ingredients, with the school unable to explain where the other half had gone. Other issue suggested that the school’s lunch budget was spent on other activities, while in another the budget intended for lunches for primary students was spread thinly to also cover lunches for secondary students and teachers, raising concerns about meal quantity and nutrition.

 

Mongkol said that with Bt20 per head devoted to lunch, Thai primary students should get a sufficiently large and nutritious meal.

 

Source: http://www.nationthailand.com/news/30372635

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-07-09

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[z42]

Anupong, he of x amount of corruption scandals fame. This story, like practically every other similar one, will be forgotten when the next scandal surfaces... Either in hours or days.

 

The country will never reduce corruption with the methods it currently employs, in fact it will more than likely snowball

[Reigntax]

Good that the kids are being exposed to the expected corruption now so they know what to expect for the rest of their lives.

Who said the Thai edcation system teaches kids nothing!!

[Odysseus123]

Thailand-the hub of clampdowns.

[PatOngo]

Hey, if it makes them feel important, makes them feel like real men, makes their little penis's feel bigger, keep robbing from school children you lowlife scum!

[30la]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Clampdown on school lunch corruption needed, says Interior Minister

I thought corruption had already been eliminated!
It seems that the ministers of the old government want to keep their place showing that they are efficient and competent!

[Lupatria]

I don't think it will get overcrowded at the next meeting of the association of inactive principals after this 'clampdown'.

[Katipo]

Stealing lunch money from children. If ever there was a sign that there is a deeply embedded sickness in society, this is it.

[petermik]

7 hours ago, Katipo said:

Stealing lunch money from children. If ever there was a sign that there is a deeply embedded sickness in society, this is it.

There is no shame here where making money is concerned....money number 1 wherever it comes from....disgusting people

[Sakeopete]

Clampdowns and crackdowns are just reminders to send monthly payments. The media is a very efficient method of getting the message out to everyone involved for free.

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

Clampdown on school lunch corruption needed,

Lunch is the tip of a very large corruption ice-berg in schools... anything sourced in the manner of supplies is very lucrative to someones pocket!

[geoffbezoz]

17 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Thailand-the hub of clampdowns.

As its about school meals perhaps the headline should have read "Clam downs"  ????

[thequietman]

Thailand.

 

????

Edited July 10, 2019 by thequietman

[thequietman]

????

[Bangkok Barry]

46 minutes ago, petermik said:

There is no shame here where making money is concerned....money number 1 wherever it comes from....disgusting people

 

No mista, you wrong. No spek bad bout Tilan. Tilan numba one love chilren, love everyone. Maybe not love falang cos spek bad us. Tilan have best beech, best shopin, most buttiful laidee, tempul numba one in worl, best drive car. Thai so cleva no need licen. Falang think too mutt .

[Srikcir]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

With nationwide probes over alleged corruptions in free lunch programmes underway

After Prayut's coup in May 2014, Anupong became an advisor to the junta NCPO and in August 2014 appointed by Prayut as Minister of Interior. 

• After almost five years he now joins the government probes into alleged corruption in free lunch programs? How can the Thai public have any confidence in Anupong that he won't stall, coverup or otherwise collude to obfuscate these probes to protect perhaps not only himself but the Prayut junta government as a whole?

In particular since Prayut's royal endorsement as PM and election of the Parliament House. Prayut's NCPO-appointed cabinet members are no longer politically legitimate and need to be replaced by Prayut immediately with a new Cabinet that reflects the MP composition of the new parliament and complies with the transparency and accountability as required by Parliament under the Constitution!

[Krataiboy]

Well, what a coincidence! Only yesterday, Thai and English newspapers carried a whistleblower's expose of corruption affecting just about every aspect of the state education system. 

 

Thailand has one of the biggest schooling budgets not only in Asia, but, per capita, in the world. Yet when it comes to facilities and results gives worse value for money than many much poorer countries.

 

School meals are just the tip of the iceberg. The whole whole rotten edifice needs to be put under the microscope, not with some whitewashing internal probe but an independent inquriy able to bring to book those responsible for bilking parents and taxpayers.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Krataiboy

[Redline]

It’s a sad issue to ever have to bring up-selfish sick people

[superal]

20 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Well, what a coincidence! Only yesterday, Thai and English newspapers carried a whistleblower's expose of corruption affecting just about every aspect of the state education system. 

 

Thailand has one of the biggest schooling budgets not only in Asia, but, per capita, in the world. Yet when it comes to facilities and results gives worse value for money than many much poorer countries.

 

School meals are just the tip of the iceberg. The whole whole rotten edifice needs to be put under the microscope, not with some whitewashing internal probe but an independent inquriy able to bring to book those responsible for bilking parents and taxpayers.

Agree but nothing will change . Its called " those that have and those who have not " . Seems to me that the hierarchy give little to the under privileged and the wealth stays with the top 5 % in this country . 

I saw on TV last night the meals that were being served up to hundreds of school children and being overseen by officials cos the cameras were there . A lump of rice , 1 of those skinless sausages , a piece of tomato is all I could see . The fat officials smiled approvingly .  What were the kids getting before ? the mind boggles . How can these adults treat their own kids this way with money gains by serving cheap food  ?  But of course that does not alter the fact that all children do very well under the education system here and leave school well qualified  for ?

I would love to see a daily picture of food served to children posted online for all to see . Cannot be all bad , must be some good schools out there ?    

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, superal said:

I would love to see a daily picture of food served to children posted online for all to see . Cannot be all bad , must be some good schools out there ? 

My kid usually buys a bag of crisps and a coloured drink from one of the stalls outside his school gate.

[jimmyyy]

yeah i give each of my kids 100 baht a day, they go to 7/11 or the food stalls.