In order to reduce the burden on parents, Chuo Ward will make school lunches free of charge at ward elementary and junior high schools from April this year, and will also make school lunches free of charge at nursery schools.
In addition to the corona disaster, Chuo Ward has said that the burden on child-rearing households is increasing due to soaring prices, etc. However, it is a policy to implement free school lunches from April.
The ward appropriated more than 520 million yen, which is necessary for making school lunches free, in the new fiscal year's budget proposal.
On the other hand, from April, school lunch fees, which had been collected from 3- to 5-year-old children attending 91 nursery schools and children's centers in the ward, will be free, and the ward will need 112 million yen to pay for this. The surplus yen has been included in the budget proposal for the new fiscal year.
In Tokyo, one municipality after another has announced a policy of free school lunches in their budget proposals for the new fiscal year. I want to be able to give birth and grow up."
Katsushika Ward, the first 23 wards to make it free, will be included in the new fiscal year's budget plan
In September last year, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, announced a policy to make school lunches for elementary and junior high schools free of charge from April this year for the first time in the 23 wards, and after that, a series of local governments have shown a policy of making it free.
Katsushika Ward plans to subsidize the cost of 3,900 yen to 4,900 yen for elementary school students and 5,280 yen for junior high school students by subsidizing the cost that was borne by parents every month.
The target children and students are about 29,000 people enrolled in municipal elementary and junior high schools and special needs schools, and the city has included the necessary 1.4 billion yen in the new fiscal year's budget proposal.
Katsunori Aoki, mayor of Katsushika Ward, said, "Last year, after announcing the free transportation, there were many reactions, including negative opinions, from other local governments, but as a result, many local governments implemented it. I'm glad. I want to move forward with child-rearing measures with the intention of leading the way."