Synchronized monitoring to ensure school meals

According to statistics from the Department of Education and Training, in the 2025-2026 school year, the province will have 1,378 educational institutions, including 452 kindergartens, 456 primary schools, 349 secondary schools, and 94 high schools, with approximately 700,000 students (about 126,000 kindergarten children and over 272,000 primary school students). Of these, 100% of kindergartens and 50% of primary schools provide lunch services. This poses a significant challenge regarding food safety control.

The education sector has intensified its efforts in disseminating information, providing guidance, and supervising the assurance of safe food sources in schools; issuing procedures for inspecting and verifying the quality of incoming food; and requiring schools to retain food samples as per regulations for monitoring and traceability purposes when necessary. However, in reality, some school meal providers still do not strictly control the origin of their food, posing a potential risk to students' health.

Lunchtime for students at Phan Dang Luu Primary School (Ea Kao ward).

Recently, the Buon Ma Thuot Ward Health Station established four monitoring teams to inspect 71 preschools in the area. The results showed that most school kitchens generally complied well with food safety and hygiene regulations. However, the schools' record-keeping and information storage were still inadequate. Ms. Tran Thi Hao, Head of the Food Safety Department at the Buon Ma Thuot Ward Health Station, stated: “Some educational institutions did not keep complete records. The inspection team reminded and guided them on how to rectify the situation; they also disseminated information and requested schools to sign commitments to cooperate in ensuring food safety.”

Previously, in the first quarter of 2026, the Department of Health coordinated with relevant units to inspect 40 collective kitchens in the area, with a focus on school kitchens. As a result, 39 out of 40 facilities met the requirements; some units had implemented the three-step food inspection and sample retention but not in accordance with regulations.

Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, Luu Tien Quang, inspected the boarding school program at Phan Chu Trinh Primary School (Buon Ma Thuot ward).

Given the ever-present risk of food poisoning in school cafeterias, proactive prevention and control are identified as key solutions to protect students' health and contribute to the stability of teaching and learning activities. "The health sector requests that localities, the education sector, and relevant units continue to strengthen management, inspection, and supervision; pay attention to investing in facilities; enhance training and update knowledge for those directly involved in food preparation; and strictly control water sources and food ingredients," noted Mr. Tran Quang Hung, Deputy Head of the Food Safety Department, Department of Health.

According to Mr. Luu Tien Quang, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, in addition to tightening the management of food sources, a new feature for the 2025-2026 school year is transparency. Specifically, menus and meal portions will be posted for 7-15 days on the websites of educational institutions and on bulletin boards at schools. This solution not only enhances the responsibility of schools but also creates conditions for parents and the community to closely monitor school meals.

Thanh Huong

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-xa-hoi/giao-duc/202605/giam-sat-dong-bo-bao-dam-bua-an-hoc-duong-58b492c/