RIYADH, 21 October — Dairy manufacturers blame the Ministry of Education for the failure of a proposed project to supply milk drinks in schools in place of carbonated drinks, according to an industry source.
The ministry was lukewarm to the project with no apparent reason, and a series of meetings held between the ministry and industry representatives did not produce any positive results, the source said.
Ministry officials contacted by Arab News refused to comment on the charges.
The ministry had asked the dairy companies to negotiate with a public relations firm that had a contract with the ministry to promote the project but the talks did not bear fruit.
The publicity company demanded a huge sum to undertake the project and rejected an SR3 million offer by the dairy industry for promoting their products in schools, the source said.
The manufacturers had also asked the ministry to observe a “milk and water day” in schools to encourage milk consumption among student, but the ministry refused saying it could not compel the school canteens to serve only milk and water on a particular day.
