Negligence in school feeding project, strict action against contractors

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has summoned contractors after news of irregularities and corruption in the school feeding project was aired on Jamuna Television. Yesterday, Monday (May 18), State Minister for Education Bobby Hajjaj called an emergency meeting. Even the work orders of the irregulars are being canceled.
Today, Jamuna Television’s news showed that children are being given low-quality food in this project. Investigations in 11 upazilas showed that 170 million taka is being wasted on bananas, eggs and buns every week. Children are facing health risks by eating this low-quality food. Earlier, last Thursday, Education Minister Dr. A.N.M. Ehsanul Haque drew attention to this issue and a day later, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued emergency instructions on school feeding.
The instructions issued on a holiday Saturday said that if irregularities are found, action will be taken against the concerned persons according to the law, including departmental cases. The headmasters of the concerned schools have been instructed to thoroughly verify the food before accepting it from the supplying institution. Incidentally, the government primary school nutrition program has been running in about 150 upazilas across the country since November 17, 2025. Through this project worth about Tk 5,000 crore, five types of food are currently provided to children. This list includes eggs, bread, milk, bananas and biscuits.