(MENAFN-Arab News) several parents have called on the government to introduce price controls at school cafeterias because of the rising cost of food on offer to their children

Many cafeterias have raised prices for breakfast and lunch by as much as 50 percent. this is a particular problem at private schools, they say

An additional issue, parents say, is that these cafeterias do not provide healthy meals

?the authorities should form a committee that not only keeps a check on the quality of food being served to the students every day, but also monitors and controls prices at newly established school cafeterias,? said fathiha wajahat, a dietician and educator at manarat international school in jeddah.

Wajahat said that if children are charged double the prices of supermarkets, parents should have a say over menus. ?parents with children studying at private schools already spend a great deal of money on their education.

Parents should be able to demand that schools provide nutritious food for their children, including meals without meat, said wajahat

?i believe there should be some sort of body to monitor food prices at school cafeterias,? says suzan maher, a lebanese mother. ?since i'm a working mother, it is difficult for me to prepare meals for my children every morning. i used to give them an allowance to buy their meals at the school cafeteria.

"i stopped doing that recently because i realized that i was spending way too much for their school lunches, which were not even healthy. my maid prepares home cooked meals for my children now, which is much healthier.

She said it appears that this is a particular problem at private schools. many parents cannot afford the cost of these meals on a daily basis, said maher

Last year, the education department in the eastern province warned schools to keep their cafeteria food affordable and nutritious. it said that inspectors would monitor cafeterias to check whether they comply. the department issued the directives following complaints from parents about high prices and poor quality food at local schools

Manal al-rashid, a former saudi principal, said the ministry of commerce should introduce price controls at schools in the same way it has done at supermarkets and malls

Al-rashid said that schools often subcontract their school cafeterias to outside parties and then fail to monitor prices and quality. ?prices will increase as long as there is no oversight by officials,? said al-rashid.