Emirati women to staff canteens at Ministry of Education schools

DUBAI // Canteens at schools run by the Ministry of Education are to be managed by staff provided by Emirates Transport (ET).

The company already provides school buses to government schools. Now, after signing an agreement with the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, it will also provide cafeteria staff to the schools, including higher education institutions run by the government.

The ET Schools Services Centre, which also manages school bus attendants, will now be responsible for the recruitment, training and transportation of Emirati women to fill the management roles at these canteens.

Emirati women were given priority for filling the positions in school canteens as a means of providing extra revenue for families with limited incomes.

The agreement comes under the healthy school meals initiative launched by the foundation, under the patronage of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and chairman of the Khalifa Foundation, to provide nutritious food to students at affordable prices.

The school canteen initiative was launched last year as a pilot project, in cooperation with the MoE and was initially trialled in selected schools in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, but has now expanded to include about 300 across the country. The ET centre will serve 161 schools, colleges and training institutions as part of the agreement.

The foundation teamed up with Al Ain Food, Al Ain Farms and Emirates Food & Cooperative society to deliver subsidised food to the schools. Children can spend from 50 fils for a bottle of water up to Dh7 for a complete meal.

To be ready for the start of the school year, recruitment and training of the canteen staff started a few weeks ahead of the official signing of the contract between the two parties, according to Jasim Al Shair, manager of the Schools Services Centre.

“We have recruited 371 women in Dubai and the Northern Emirates and they will be working on a part-time basis,” Mr Al Shair said.