TEACHERS SAY MONITORING STUDENTS’ EATING EXTRA WORK BUT WILL GIVE IT A SHOT
By Sheria Brathwaite
From Tuesday, teachers will be tasked with monitoring what students eat as the National School Nutrition Policy takes effect.
And while some of them have expressed concern that the added responsibility may put them under pressure, the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) says members are willing to give it a try.
On Monday, hundreds of primary and secondary school teachers met with officials from the Ministry of Education at the Wildey Gymnasium to discuss the implementation of the policy.
During the question and answer session, some teachers raised several concerns, including the “added pressure” of monitoring what pupils eat, the wastage of healthy meals offered by the School Meals Department, and the potential loss of revenue by offering “unfavoured” snacks during school fundraising activities.
Following the meeting, BUT president Rudy Lovell acknowledged the issues raised about the extra task.
“Any additional work being attributed to teachers is going to be difficult at this time because teachers are heavily burdened with a lot of tasks and duties,” he told Barbados TODAY.
However, he added, “given that teachers are resilient and always want the best for their children, I believe they will try to encourage students to adopt a healthy lifestyle”.
“We would also want for this policy to be supported by additional physical activity, so an increase in physical education in school must be looked at. Usually, it is seen as a subject you do on the side, but if we are talking about the reduction of NCDs [noncommunicable diseases] we have to factor in not only eating well but exercise, so there must be a holistic approach to achieving the objectives,” Lovell added.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw said that NCDs were putting too much pressure on the public health system and teachers had to play a critical role in preventing the problem.
“Teachers generally seemed to want to implement the policy. Of course, there were some questions and there is some hesitation but nothing beats a trial but a failure to try and we left here today with the intention of trying to see whether we can bring about the change that is necessary within our school food environment. So I am positive going into tomorrow that we will have some implementation of the school nutrition policy,” she said. “In terms of the teachers’ duties, of course it will be something else to monitor but it is all part of what teachers are required to do. Teachers are required to make sure that the children are in environments that are socially, emotionally and physically safe. With regards to the school nutrition policy that would ensure that the children are eating healthily, that is part of safety as well. So I know that some teachers may be sceptical or concerned about that but it’s just part of their duty.”
Archer-Bradshaw added that the overall responsibility of improving children’s diet was not that of teachers alone but parents as well.
She said the Education Ministry officials held sensitisation meetings with parents and guardians and also spoke with canteen operators and vendors. Based on those meetings, the education chief said, they were “excited” about the implementation of the policy.
Emphasising that the policy was a guideline and not a law, Archer-Bradshaw said that there were no penalties associated with it. She said if students went to school with food that was not on the approved list, all that could be done was for authorities to use moral suasion to encourage parents to give their children healthier options. She said they would also have to increase the sensitisation meetings.
However, Archer-Bradshaw warned canteen operators that given their business was done on a contractual basis, there could be repercussions if they did not comply with the policy.
As it relates to the wastage of the healthy school meals provided to primary school students, she said the ministry had sent out a survey to teachers to find out what types of foods the children liked.
Archer-Bradshaw added that going forward, teachers would be asked to give more feedback so the School Meals Department would do a better job of catering to students.
Responding to concerns about school fundraising activities, Archer-Bradshaw instructed the teachers to be more creative and offer local fruit in clear bags, or engage students in physical activity for a cost, such as bicycle rides.
The National School Nutrition Policy was developed with the help of the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition and other stakeholders.
During Monday’s meeting, it was announced that only low-sodium snacks that fall between 130 and 240 milligrammes, which represents 10 per cent of the maximum daily intake recommended by the World Health Organisation, will be allowed on school premises.
Snacks with no more than 25 grammes of total sugars and three grammes of total fat per serving are approved. Additionally, snacks containing three grammes or more of fibre per serving have been included, as well as snacks low in cholesterol – 40 milligrammes or less per serving.
Some of the approved snacks are fruit, plain or lightly salted popcorn, granola, mini pretzels, digestive biscuits, plantain chips, nuts and raisins, mixed nuts, cassava chips and fruit cups.
For beverages, options with no added sugar and 100 per cent juice were included on the approved list, along with water, non-sugar-flavoured water, 100 per cent vegetable juice, 100 per cent fruit juice, coconut water, sparkling water, reduced-fat milk, and unsweetened hemp milk.
Parents and teachers were also urged to email alternativedrinksandsnacks@gmail.com to find out what other foods were approved for student consumption at school.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
