The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is studying special lunches being served up at Wichuthit School in Din Daeng district and is looking into setting up a sports-oriented school.
Deputy Bangkok governor Sanon Wangsrangboon visited Wichuthit School on Friday to check out the special meals being served to the 460 students under the school’s athletic programme.
Since athletes have different dietary requirements, Wichuthit School is providing them with special meals that are high in protein content, Sanon said.
Meanwhile, schools under BMA’s jurisdiction are serving meals based on the number of nutrients calculated according to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) system.
The “Thai School Lunch for BMA” system also grades meal quality based on the amount of food and required nutrition with colour coding: pink (lacking some nutrients), blue (some nutrients are too high), red (some nutrients are too low), purple (amount is too little), and green (the correct amount of nutrients and food).
“Schools are required to maintain a record of weekly meal plans including calorific count and nutrition,” Sanon said. “This way we can track the nutrition school children are getting and improve in the areas that are still lacking. The goal is to ensure that all school children in the city are getting enough nutrition.”
Sanon added that BMA is also looking into the possibility of establishing a school that focuses primarily on promoting athletic excellence. There are currently no such schools in Bangkok.
“Most schools treat gifted students the same as normal students, which is a missed opportunity as their athletic talents are not used to the fullest. We are looking into ways of creating a programme that is capable of maximising these children’s potential,” Sanon said.
He added that the city has earmarked a piece of land in Nong Chok district to build its first sports school.
He said the investment budget, organisation and curriculum of this institute are now being drafted.
“We are studying similar programmes in other countries like China and South Korea to see what practices can be adopted for Bangkok students,” he added.
