Eating a packed lunch at school? That will be €0.50

Children who wish to eat their own packed lunch will now have to pay €0.5 a day in schools in Mechelen, Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen report. The new regulation applies to all primary schools in Mechelen and was suggested by the city’s consultative platform for education, OOM.  The budget for out-of-hours school care, which has been slashed from €420,000 to €200,000, is the cause of this measure, the dailies report. Alderman for education Marc Hendrickx has decided to go with the proposal of the OOM, stressing that the amount to be paid by parents would be tax deductible.