The pilot run of the state’s School Breakfast Program will be launched at the start of the 2019 academic year, the Education Ministry has said.

The government will be providing subsidized breakfasts to children at local public schools, although the pilot run will only include 25 schools.

Parents will be asked to sign a form of consent, and can opt out at any given time if they so wish.

At a press conference on Thursday, Education Minister Aishath Ali said that the ministry aims to expand the program to include all 212 schools in the country, within the next five years.

The ministry has prepared 10 menus that include sandwiches, omelets, flat bread (roshi), and packets of milk.