The Food Program for Children and Adolescents (PANEA) of the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) could reach the Conservatory of Castella in 2017.
Roberto Montero, director of the institution, said they expect it to help 80% of the 435 secondary students and, in the second half of the year, 606 elementary schools.
Lilliam Jiménez, representative of a group of parents of the institution, told the press that for some time they had been requesting the implementation of programs run by the Department of Equity, which offer food and transportation.
There are students who sometimes do not have anything to eat. The food is currently handled by an Administrative Board but it is not given by the State. So when some parent has been late with the payment of complementary services (food and transportation), the children do not eat. They are simply removed from the dining room,”
said Jiménez.
According to her, the previous year they filed an appeal. The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the appeal and both the director and the Administrative Board were ordered to initiate the procedures to include the programs. However, this has not been achieved.
The director of the Conservatory said that the documents for the procedure were delivered on time, but there was a defect so they needed to rewrite the documents.
The procedure was also extended because they had to create an account to receive the benefit.
At the moment the food service for the students of the Conservatory of Castella is covered by the parents who pay a fee and the Administrative Board buys the food and hires the staff. This school is defined as public, but it is located on a private property, so the Government is inhibited to make investments, explained the director.
Montero said that they will try to approach Rosa Adolio, director of Equity Programs, in order to know about the progress of the process for the inclusion of PANEA in this school year.