Education Director of Viqueque Municipality Emilio Amaral said student numbers had not been affected despite the closure of a long-running school lunch program four months ago.
He said students in Viqueque municipality were continuing to attend class.
“It hasn’t had an impact, although there is no school lunch program, they (students) continue to come to school,” said Amaral by phone.
The program is to provide a daily meal to students who live a long distance from the school and often go without breakfast in the morning.
He said funding provided in the national budget had not yet been received, but hoped the program would restart again this month.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Education Abel da Costa Ximenes said the program was already up and running in Dili, but had yet to be rolled out in all the municipalities.
“Some schools have received the money and the program is working, but some have not,” he said.
He added that the rainy season and poor road conditions had also made it difficult to distribute rice and other goods in rural areas.
However, Fatuhada Basic School student Nivio Baptista said the program was also not running yet at his school in Dili.
“We have not got it, but we have our own money for buying food to eat,” he said.
