Clarification issued on controversial images of boarding school iftar meals

In the midst of an ongoing controversy over images of boarding school students’ Iftar meals that revealed very little food, the Regional Directorate of Education in Taounate clarified that the pictures do not reflect the reality of the Iftars.

The pictures, showing bread, cheese, and honey, raised concerns about the quality of food at schools in the region, which the educational body demented.

The body explained in a press release sent to Hespress that the investigations that were carried out, whether by the administration of the institution and by the regional committee from the Interior Ministry on Friday, showed that “one of the circulating photos was taken by a schoolgirl before completing the distribution of the rest of the meal components.”

The same source stated that the student in question deliberately published the photo on her Facebook page, and it was circulated widely, sidestepping the truth.

The education directorate further noted that the student deleted the post after only one hour, and published another photo showing the rest of the meal components.

The press release provided clarifications to the public in order to correct the false image that had been presented of the institutional facilities in Taounate, as it highlighted that the dishes displayed in the photograph differ significantly from those used at school.

The images stirred controversy, with many blaming the situation on institutional failure and wondering why the parents aren’t protesting.

The ministry of education recently established a daily charge of MAD 20 to cover the three main meals of boarding school students.

In certain institutions such as preparatory classes, it’s set at MAD 40. As for the students benefiting from the meals and not residing in school, it’s set at MAD 10.

In an effort to improve school food services, the Ministry of Education considered contracting corporations and assigning them tasks based on defined guidelines books.

The government issued a memorandum in this regard, which began to operate in the Souss-Massa region before being adopted by other schools following a successful trial period.