Mykolaiv schools to install video surveillance after food scandal

Mykolaiv is considering installing CCTV cameras. Photo: NikVesti

Following complaints about the quality of food in school canteens in Mykolaiv, the city authorities are considering installing CCTV cameras.

This was announced on 19 September during a briefing by Deputy Mayor for Social and Humanitarian Affairs Anatoliy Petrov, according to NikVesti.

According to him, outdoor cameras have already been installed in schools and partially in shelters, where most children are kept during air raids. However, he added that cameras also need to be installed in canteens and kitchens.

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«It's not cheap. We have installed outdoor cameras in educational institutions. On the territories. And that's not all of them. We have also installed them in storage facilities, but not everywhere yet. Now we plan to install them in the corridors of educational institutions. I think that over time, we will need cameras everywhere, not just in the canteens,» said Anatolii Petrov.

During the briefing, a journalist from NikVesti noted that CCTV cameras could help monitor the situation in the kitchen, as students and parents complain not so much about the menu as about small portions, violations of cooking techniques, sanitation problems and the quality of service: «It's a good point, we need to have cameras,» added Anatolii Petrov.

As a reminder, Mykolaiv spends about 21.5 million hryvnias on free meals for schoolchildren every month.

As you know, since the beginning of September, schools in Mykolaiv and other frontline regions have been providing free meals to pupils in grades 1-11. In Mykolaiv, the feeding of schoolchildren started on 8 September. And almost from the first day, parents have been complaining about the quality of the food their children are given, as well as violations of sanitary standards in the canteens.

Complaints about food in Mykolaiv schools

Earlier, parents of Mykolaiv school students expressed dissatisfaction with free meals on social media. According to them, portions were smaller than normal, meals were served cold, and the crockery in school canteens was dirty.

Parents complain about the quality of food in Mykolaiv schools, photo: Hanna Shevchenko

Petro Vasheniak, director of the municipal production enterprise for catering in Mykolaiv schools, said he had personally checked the situation, particularly at school 41, where parents complained about the amount of food on the plate. According to him, the portions were in line with the standards, but in the photo, part of the dish was hidden — for example, a chicken nugget was lying on top of potatoes.

Later, the State Food and Consumer Service of Mykolaiv stated that they had not received any complaints about poor quality food in the city's school canteens.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, responded to the parents' complaints by saying that a special commission would be set up in the city with representatives of the city council to monitor the situation.

Following the incident, the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Mykolaiv region checked the food served to children in 15 schools in the city. Experts analysed photo reports of the meals served to students.

Anatoliy Petrov, Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv for Social and Humanitarian Affairs, said that no city in Ukraine can provide quality food for all schoolchildren.

As a reminder, in Mykolaiv, parents of students at Mykola Arkas Lyceum, which is temporarily operating on the basis of Gymnasium №39, complain about problems with food in the canteen. According to them, the children are served portions that were not finished by the students of the gymnasium.

The Mykolaiv Education Department confirmed that maggots were found in the porridge at a school in Mykolaiv in the first days of September.