The Ministry of Education today announced that it had advised the withdrawal of an essay competition asking children about how they had benefited from the free breakfast provided to them.
The announcement came after negative comments about the competition on social media.
A statement from the ministry follows:
The Ministry of Education congratulates the Edu-trition: Breakfast for Success programme for executing a massively successful programme where daily more than 26,700 breakfasts are delivered and more than 49,500 meals over the two periods of NGSA 2024 were delivered.
Without doubt this programme is a beautifully crafted and delivered programme that has at its core the equitable distribution of nutritious meals to all coastland children on a scale never undertaken before (hinterland children benefit from a hot meal programme).
Yesterday, the programme published an essay competition with the aim of raising awareness and receiving feedback about the programme as well as allowing Grade 6 children to exercise their literary skills. However, the Ministry notes the worry of some civic minded Guyanese of the effect that the competition may have on children.
We recognize that the Unit’s approach may have inadvertently overlooked the sensitive nature of the issue and its potential impact on the students involved. The Ministry’s paramount duty is to make sure that the best interest of each child is always served and would revise its programme if there is even a small likelihood that said interests can be jeopardized.
We have always been committed to hearing the people we serve and to being responsive to their needs and as such has advised the unit to withdraw the competition and engage the pupils in other creative ways.
We reiterate our commitment to supporting all students in their school journey while promoting a culture of empathy and understanding within the education sector. We thank sincerely the officers and many ordinary Guyanese, mostly women, who work hard every day to make Edutrition the success it clearly is.