Free meals for Uzhgorod schoolchildren: to be or not to be?

Uzhgorod residents these last days have been actively discussing the topic of meals for schoolchildren.

A little background. By the relevant law, signed on December 31 2015, the government is committed to fund breakfasts to students in grades 1-4, but only for certain privileged categories, – the press service of Uzhgorod city council informs.

"It should be noted that this decision was taken by the Parliament without any prior consultation or coordination with local authorities. We were just put before the fact – the First Deputy Mayor Istvan Tsap said. – Since the first days of the new year, the city authorities in Uzhgorod have been working on the solution to this problem.   At present, we have allocated the necessary funds, the Department of Education in a short time has developed the relevant program. Directors of all the schools held meetings on this issue with the parents’ committees.

We conducted all the preparatory work for extraordinary session of the executive committee and the City Council to be held on Monday to adopt appropriate decisions. I think we will be the first in the region to provide a comprehensive solution to this problem (despite some statements by some local government bodies – currently, there are no adopted decisions, there are only declarations of intent).

In general, we have provided all the necessary regulatory and financial preconditions for allocation of UAH 8 million 781 thousand for meals for Uzhgorod children this year. Thus, if the Executive Committee and the deputies adopt the decision promptly, which I am sure they will, next week our children will have free meals."