Many parents want their children to have more school milk.

After more than 2 months of Hanoi's School Milk Program being implemented in kindergartens and primary schools, over 87% of students have registered. Photo: PV

After the doubt is… “ask for another portion”

Teacher Khuc Thi Mai, Principal of Ba Trieu Kindergarten (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) said: After 1 month of implementing the School Milk Program, 100% of the school's students have registered to participate. This number was initially only about 90%, but after "witnessing" the brand and quality of milk as well as the excitement of the children, many parents no longer hesitated and decided to register.

According to Ms. Mai, what parents worry about most is the issue of "near-expiry" milk being brought into schools for students to drink, but in reality, the school milk delivered to schools is newly produced so the shelf life is very long. We are also trained to give children milk when the expiry date is at least 4 months. "The School Milk Program makes it a little harder for schools, but that is nothing when you see students being provided with an additional source of quality nutrition every day with a huge discount on price," Ms. Mai shared.

Ms. Dao Thi Thanh Thao - Vice Principal of Sai Son Kindergarten (Quoc Oai District, Hanoi) said: Although the school is located in a rural area, many families still do not consider milk as an essential food in their children's meals, but after 2 months of implementing the program, the whole school has had more than 95% of students participating. Parents' initial concerns about milk quality are almost gone. "Contrary to initial concerns, many parents now ask the school whether they can register for two school milk portions for one child?", Ms. Thao said.

Many parents want each child to receive 2-3 more portions of the school milk program. Photo: PV

In response to this question, Mr. Pham Xuan Tien said: The Program Steering Committee has also received many similar questions over the past 2 months. However, the Program has received support for the cost of more than 50% and has clearly stated that each child will drink fresh milk 5 times/week (drinking once every school day), so each child will only be registered for one portion. Thus, school milk has done a meaningful job in contributing to forming children's habits and love of milk, so parents will certainly add this essential food to their children's diet.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thi Nhung - Head of the Department of Nutrition and Occupations, National Institute of Nutrition, affirmed that school milk has been rigorously researched on nutritional components suitable for the development of school-age children. Ms. Nhung also recommended that parents should feed their children a variety of foods and can use 4-5 units of milk/day, including yogurt, cheese and liquid milk.

No student or small group is “left behind”

Mr. Pham Xuan Tien, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, said: By the end of February 2019, after 2 months of the Hanoi School Milk Program officially being implemented in kindergartens and primary schools in the city, over 87% of students had registered. This number continued to increase in March because some non-public schools in the area have only now fully understood the humanity of the Program and have been promoting and informing parents to register.

School milk program reaches preschool and primary school students in Hanoi. Photo: PV

Mr. Tien also noted that because the program targets children of preschool and primary school age living in the city, there is absolutely no distinction between children studying in public or private schools. Any child of any age, regardless of the type of education, including international schools or small private preschool groups, needs to be informed and participate in this program to ensure their rights. According to statistics, Hanoi has about 4,700 preschool and primary schools that can participate in the School Milk program, including many private preschool groups.

Mr. Tien cited such evidence to affirm that as long as parents clearly understand the humanistic meaning of the Program, they can register their children to participate.

Ms. Khuc Thi Mai, Principal of Ba Trieu Kindergarten, also assessed the professionalism and dedication of the milk supplier as a “plus point” of the Program. That is what makes schools more assured about the safety and effectiveness during the implementation of the School Milk Program over the past 2 months and in the coming time.

Mr. Le Van Duc, Head of Community Communications Department of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company - Vinamilk, on behalf of Vinamilk, thanked the close cooperation of schools in the past time and the trust of parents in Vinamilk, which is a great motivation for Vinamilk to make more efforts in implementing the school milk program in Hanoi in particular and the whole country in general.

In particular, Mr. Duc affirmed that Vinamilk will continue to implement the Program with the utmost sense of responsibility to bring about a safe and effective school milk program. "We have committed to the investor, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, that when we receive any feedback related to school milk, after receiving the notification, we will have personnel come to review and handle it promptly," said Mr. Duc.