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CHAPTER SUPPLY OF TEACHERS ANDPROVISION OF SCHOOL FACILITIES

With a view to contributing to the mental and physical development of pupils as well as to the improvement of their nutrition, the school lunch program was initiated soon after World War . The School Lunch Law was enacted in 1954, and the government has been encouraging the school lunch program by providing financial aids.

Figure 22. Percentage of Pupils Benefiting from Lunch and Milk Services, 1958-1964

The distribution of powdered milk on a nation-wide basis to elementary and lower secondary schools provided since 1962, completed a national school lunch program. As of May 1964, the program was applied to 9l.2% of the pupils in 84.8% of the elementary schools, and for 62.2% of the pupils in 65.3% of the lower secondary schools. In addition, evening meals were provided to 80.4% of the total number of pupils in part-time upper secondary schools in 1964.

The governmental aid for the school lunch service is provided in the form of facilities and equipment, personnel, food stuffs, lunch expenses for poor children, etc. In the area of facilities and equipment, assistance has been given by the government for the provision of a kitchen, a storeroom and necessary equipment for each school, and also for joint-community kitchens, since 1964. The joint-community kitchen is designed to do the cooking for more than two schools at a time in order to ensure an effective and economical operation of the school lunch program. In 1963 there were 161 such kitchens in the country, and this new system is worthy of note for the future operation of the school lunch program.

The placement of school nutritionists has been promoted through the provision of financial aid from the government for the stationing of nutritionists in the joint-community kitchens since 1964.

In the United States, under the National School Lunch Law enacted in 1946, the Federal Government provides a considerable amount of assistance in the school feeding service in the form of subsidies and supply of materials, etc. In 1961 complete school lunch service was in effect for 32.7 percent of the total number of school children in elementary and secondary schools (47.4% of the schools).

In the United Kingdom, the school lunch service was started a long time ago. It is provided in the Education Act of 1944 that the local education authorities should undertake school lunch service for children who want to be fed in primary and secondary schools and county colleges under their jurisdictions. In 1963, 59.2 percent of the pupils in primary and secondary schools benefited from school lunch service and 82.4 percent of the pupils enjoyed free supply of milk.