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CHAPTER . IMPROVEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND METHOD

Table 41. Percent of Schools and Children Benefiting from School Lunch Programs by Type of Services, 1970

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Note: Actual numbers are given in Basic Table 38. Basic Table38

Figure 29. Percent of Pupils Benefiting from Full Meals, Supplementary Meals and Milk Services, 1959 -1970

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Note: Actual numbers are given in Basic Table 39. Basic Table 39

School lunch services aim at contributing to the sound development of the minds and bodies of school children as well as to the improvement of the diet of the Japanese people. In order to attain this aim, school lunches provide such nutrition as may be lacking in homes, based on standards prescribed by the Ministry of Education. School lunch services have actually contributed greatly to providing nutritionally balanced lunches to schoolchildren and thereby to improving their physical measurements.

School lunch services also contribute to cultivating sociability among pupils as well as to developing desirable eating habits in so far as efforts are made for teachers to have lunch together with pupils and to create a comfortable atmosphere.

School lunch services have been improved every year both in terms of quantity and quality, but there are many problems yet to be solved. Quantitatively, measures should be taken in the future to extend services not only to elementary and lower secondary schools not yet providing school lunch services, but also to kindergartens and upper secondary schools. Qualitatively, it is necessary to improve physical and personnel conditions and to take measures to establish a rational system for purchasing food, thereby contributing to the overall expansion and improvement of school lunch services.