In August 2025, the Department of Education and Training of Khanh Hoa is soliciting opinions on the draft Regulations on selecting a unit to provide school meal services for primary school students.
The consultation aims to increase publicity and transparency, while improving the quality of boarding services at public primary schools in the province.
According to the draft, school meals are currently organized in 3 forms: Kitchen directly managed by the school; Kitchen cooked by the service unit at school and served to students; Orders for meals from outside through the service provider.
For each form, the draft sets out mandatory conditions and specific criteria on capacity, experience, food safety as well as the ability to meet nutritional needs for students.
Specifically, units must be established and operate in accordance with Vietnamese law; have a valid certificate of food safety eligibility; have at least 3 years of experience in the field of providing meals or school kitchens.
At the same time, it has signed at least 3 contracts to provide school meal services.
In addition, the draft also requires units to have a team of experts trained in organizing school meals; food sources certified by VietGAP, OCOP; specialized food transport vehicles (if ordered from outside) to ensure quality until students use them.
The Council selects a unit providing school meal services, established by the Principal of a primary school. The goal is to help heads of primary schools organize the selection of the form of organization and unit to provide school meal services for students.
The responsibility of the People's Committees at the commune and ward levels is to direct, guide, supervise and inspect the organization of the selection of the form of organization and the unit providing school meal services under their management authority.
In addition, localities will synthesize and report to the Department of Education and Training the results of selecting the form of organization and the results of selecting the service provider.
Currently, the Khanh Hoa Department of Education and Training has proposed that localities forward the draft to public primary schools with boarding facilities to participate in giving comments before making it official.
tung temporarily suspending the introduction of cooking units due to schools' reaction
At the end of 2024, the education sector in Khanh Hoa has temporarily stopped introducing Stargate Group to Nha Trang primary schools for boarding meals to review and re-evaluate the effectiveness.
Before the decision to temporarily suspend, the Department of Education and Training of Khanh Hoa province sent an official dispatch to the People's Committee of Nha Trang City (old) to coordinate and direct the implementation of cooperation in building a convenient kitchen system at primary schools with Stargate Group.
The implementation of this plan has not received consensus from parents and representatives of primary schools in Nha Trang.
Public opinion believes that the official dispatch of the Department of Education and Training introducing only one unit participating in the construction of a boarding kitchen is an imposition. Parents do not have any other options to compare and evaluate.
Meanwhile, the boarding kitchens in schools have been in operation for many years, students are used to the old taste and do not need to change.
On the side of the Department of Education and Training, it affirmed that the Department did not promote the monopoly of Stargate Group, there were no group interests or personal interests in this matter.
The Department's ultimate goal in introducing is to create professionalism in managing boarding kitchens and food safety and hygiene.
