BANGKOK, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered authorities to crack down on alleged corruption in a school lunch project nationwide, said deputy government spokesman Lt. Gen. Weerachon Sukhonthapatipak on Sunday.
The prime minister has instructed the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Interior to take action against alleged corruption in the project which provides lunch for free to elementary-level schoolchildren at public schools nationwide.
However, according to the deputy government spokesman, the money allocated by the ministry for the project had been embezzled or misused at some public schools such as those in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
At some schools, the lunch had not only been provided for elementary-level schoolchildren but secondary-level schoolchildren and teachers, Lt. Gen. Weerachon said.
The school lunch project is only meant to be handed out for free to elementary-level schoolchildren and no others, he said.
He quoted the prime minister as saying the nutritional values of the food for elementary-level schoolchildren would be lessened if the alleged corruption prevailed over it.
