Centralized feeding system to be tested in orphanages in Azerbaijan

By AzerNews

Practice of centralized feeding will be applied in a number of orphanages and schools for children with disabilities in Baku and Absheron peninsula, Education Minister Mikayil Jabbarov told reporters on Sept.10.

Since Sept.16 the practice of centralized feeding will be applied in a number of orphanages, and schools for children with disabilities, operating in Baku and Absheron peninsula, taking into account the children's age, calorific value and vitamin content of food.

"We will use this practice in other places if the experience is positive," he said.

"The Cabinet adopted a relevant decision to regulate the activity of intraschool catering facilities in an effort to better protect the health of secondary school students," Jabbarov noted.

"This decision requires certain changes in the infrastructure of the education sector," he underscored. "The consultations are underway with the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patents. This issue will be kept under strict control."

Notable, the number of children facilities have been reduced from 55 to 41 since 2006. There are 8,336 children in orphanages at present, and some 3,671 of them stay overnight. The number of orphans is 509.

The government bodies implement successful work to decrease the number of children in these facilities through improving well-being of families in need, systematic preventive measures among the children and families at risk groups, comprehensive approach to the solution of problems and strict control of acceptance of children to such enterprises. Thus, admission of 589 children to such facilities were prevented in the country in 2012.