More “sandwich tax” than ever this autumn in primary schools
More primary schools will introduce the so-called “sandwich tax” this autumn, which requires parents to pay if their children eat their lunches brought from home at school
Schools plan to charge parents up to €270 a year for supervising pupils while they eat their packed lunches. What do you think?
Some schools charge €1.50 per day
Schools that have already introduced the measure are likely to increase the amount that parents have to pay. School administrations say that the policy change is a result of the increasingly tighter budgets of many municipalities.
Het Laatste Nieuws found that one primary school in Hasselt charges children who eat their own lunches 25 cents a day. Some schools, like the Sint-Pieters Leo school in West Flanders, have raised the amount from €1.10 to €1.50 per day.
For parents, the measure can mean an extra cost of €60 to €270 per year, per child. “It’s a widespread phenomenon,” Marc Van den Brande, secretary-general of the Catholic primary education network, told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Parents are often disappointed because they think it’s part of the normal task of teachers to supervise children at lunchtime, which it isn’t.”
The non-profit Network against Poverty, meanwhile, said in a statement that the “sandwich tax is an antisocial measure that will push vulnerable families deeper into poverty and cause an increase of the number of unpaid school invoices.”
