MOST of the public school canteens for school year 2017 to 2018 in Davao City lack proper sanitation, a City Health Office (CHO) official said.
Department of Education (DepEd)-Davao Region released a memorandum circular last March 21, 2017, mandating all public schools to serve only healthy food in their school canteens to promote healthy nutrition among the students starting last June 11.
CHO chief Doctor Josephine Villafuerte, in an interview, said the City Government made a separate inspection hoping to cover all public elementary and high schools in the city. The inspection started in the second week of June and is still ongoing.
"We are still half-way through all the schools. But so far, our office saw that most of the canteens we have already covered violated some sanitation requirements," Villafuerte said.
She said most of the school canteens' personnel do not wear hair nets as required. Also, CHO saw used utensils and dining wares stacked on the sink area.
The public school canteens that were seen to have violated the sanitation requirements, Villafuerte said, were given a first warning notice, urging them to obey the protocols.
She said CHO will hold a second inspection at the end of the year to assess whether the canteens that were given the first warning notices have already complied.
"If in the second inspection, the canteens still have violated our protocol, closure of the canteens will be made," Villafuerte said.
Furthermore, Villafuerte said CHO will conduct inspection to private school canteens in the city after the first round of inspection on all public school canteens is done.
She said the observance of proper sanitation has to be prioritized by the school administrations as the health of the students must be ensured inside the premises of the schools.