School and apples

Minister of Education of Georgia Aleksandre Jejelava has initiated the distribution of apples at schools in order to encourage the consumption of healthy food in educational institutions.

The Minister also proposed a ban of unhealthy products at schools.

“The campaign, appropriately dubbed Distribution of Apples in Schools, will cost 90,000 GEL to the Ministry of Education at the first stage,” Maia Mushkudiani, program manager of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, says.

She announced the first phase of the campaign will last from September to December and the Ministry of Education will need about 45 tons of apples.

At the first stage, only large schools located in the capital will be involved in the program, with apples being distributed among 20,000 children of 10 schools in Tbilisi once a week.

According to the Ministry of Education, the campaign is not a one-time event and it will cover other schools across the country from January.

The Ministry of Education will announce a tender for the purchase of apples this week.

Apples will be purchased from local farmers, according to the tender terms.

The minister has already garnered criticism for its various statements about projects dubbed ‘fairy tales’ and other well-meaning but impractical proposal, especially as Georgian schools face fundamental system problems, such initiatives could cause fun and even irritation in public.

Education is a fundament for the development of any state, but in Georgia the field is still waiting for a minister who will push forward real changes.