education

Funds sought for PACE

Education officials are expected to ask for about a 50 percent increase in funds for its Programa de Alimentación Complementaria Escolar (PACE), an important source of nutrition for many of the country's children.

The program provides milk, cookies and other basic food to children in 3,703 schools across the country.

It was created in 1995 and served 372,000 students at a cost of $9.7 million. It has grown steadily since then, and last year served an estimated 476,762 students at a cost of $15.8 million.

According to nutritionist Jorge Yangües, the program provides students with 20 percent of the daily calories they need for a healthy diet.

Next year, officials are asking the government to increase spending on the program by almost $7 million to $22.4 million. The increase is due to rising school populations and higher food prices. The updated program is expected to serve an additional 72,000 students.

But not everyone is happy with the program. School officials at Escuela Básica General Santa Catalina in Ngöbe Buglé reported that their food allotment never arrived. School officials said that they were told that transportation issues were the reason that the school did not receive any shipments.

Education officials said that they plan to review records to eliminate such problems and ensure that each school gets the supplies it needs.