Saturday June 14, 2008
Canteen food costlier now
By ANN TAN
GEORGE TOWN: Pupils in some schools here have not been spared from spiralling prices – food in the canteen now cost between 10 sen and 30 sen more a plate.
A check by The Star yesterday found that several school canteens in Penang started charging the new prices after the recent mid-year holidays.
While parents complain about having to give their children more pocket money, canteen operators claim they have no choice but to increase prices to cover costs.
Canteen operator Yeoh Leng Kee, 70, said he had maintained prices for years but was no longer able to do so without incurring losses.
Feeling the pinch: Students lining up to buy food at a school canteen in George Town on Friday. Canteen operators claim they have no choice but to increase prices to cover costs. “With the increased prices of flour, petrol and so on, I have had to raise the price of my char koay teow from RM1.50 to RM1.70. But I only did so after getting the school’s approval,” said Yeoh, who operates a canteen at a school in Green Lane.
Teh Chooi Pheng, 43, who sells economy rice, said she increased the price of each dish by 10 sen, adding that it would otherwise have been difficult to survive.
“We need to earn a living besides paying a monthly rental of RM300 to the school,” she added.
A roti canai seller, Khairuddin Mustafa Wan, 42, said his school canteen committee was meeting next week and he hoped they would allow the canteen to adjust prices to cover costs.
Year Five pupil Tan Qiao Yan, 10, said she tried to cut down eating at her school canteen by bringing food from home.
“My pocket money is limited, so I cannot afford to eat in the canteen too much now that the food costs more,” she said.
Student Nor Tasnim Abdul Aziz, 16, said her mother gave her RM100 monthly for food and it was not enough to cover the increase in prices.
A parent, Chew Soong Meng, 36, said the 20 sen to 30 sen increase was quite steep for school children.
A father of two school-going boys, Terrence Ng, said the price increase was reasonable but felt the food portion should also be increased.
“I have recently increased my sons’ pocket money to make sure they get enough food in school,” he said, adding that his two sons, aged 12 and 13, were big eaters.
Another parent, Quah Lean Hong, 49, said she disagreed with the price increase of canteen food as most families already had to put up with higher expenses following the fuel hike.
A senior staff member of a secondary school in Gottlieb Road said the school authorities had received a request from their canteen operator to raise prices and understood their plight.
“We still hope they will cooperate with us and maintain prices for the time being,” she said, adding that the school would discuss with the board the possibility of reducing stall rentals.
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