The Regional Secretary of West Java has spoken out regarding the continuation of the Free Nutritious Meal program in his region.
This follows an incident that occurred in the Regency, affecting hundreds of school students in Cipongkor and Cihampelas Districts.
He stated that the incident in the Regency has been reported to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) as the authority holding the program.
“Regarding that, we will report it to the BGN because the authority lies with the BGN. It is clear that the West Java provincial government supports this program,” he said.
He added that the report to the BGN follows up on incidents related to technicalities and a number of shortcomings during the distribution implementation so far.
“Regarding technicalities, there are shortcomings and so on, of course it must be based on an evaluation regarding its nutritional content, its hygiene, and others,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that the follow-up from the report to the BGN regarding this poisoning will later become an appropriate decision.
“We will report it to the BGN, then we will wait; regarding this matter, the government will later make the right decision,” he said.
He emphasized that his party is ready to guard and ensure the success of the program. However, beforehand, they will provide input reflecting on the incident that occurred.
“We from the West Java Provincial Government are ready to guard and ensure the success of the government’s program, but with feedback from the field,” he said.
“After all, it comes from those who know directly from the children, from the parents. We must be wise, we must be smart, we must not provide hoax information, it must be based on data, it must be comprehensive,” he said.
He emphasized that his party will immediately conduct laboratory tests to determine the exact cause of the incident that affected the students.
“We are also conducting lab tests regarding the content of this menu, which were sent to the laboratory on Monday,” he stated.
The Education Office of the Regency ensures that Teaching and Learning Activities are not affected by the incident caused by the menu.
As is known, hundreds of elementary, junior high, and high school students or equivalent in the Regency in Cipongkor District were affected by the menu.
The Acting Head of the Education Office said that teaching and learning activities for students in the affected areas are still running normally.
“Learning activities continue as usual for students who were not poisoning victims,” he said when confirmed.
He added that previously there was a plan to temporarily suspend learning activities in schools that were the location of the incident.
“It was going to be suspended yesterday. But it didn’t happen and learning continues as usual,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that currently, students who are still in the recovery period are given dispensation not to participate in learning activities at school.
“There are still students who need to check their health at the post because some are still weak and others,” he said.
He emphasized that regarding the learning process for now, it will not burden the poisoning victims. This is to speed up the recovery process.
“The most important thing is the health of the students so that they can recover as soon as possible,” he stated.
