THE number of pupils entitled to free school meals has surpassed the 100,000 mark.
Almost one in every three young people can now receive a free daily dinner, according to newly published Department of Education statistics.
Free school meals (FSM) are usually provided to pupils whose parents receive benefits or whose family income is less than £16,190.
The increase is not due to there being more `poor' pupils in schools, however.
From the start of the last school year, the scheme was extended to thousands more secondary school pupils from low income households.
More than 185,000 school meals, both free and paid, were taken by pupils on meals census day, which equates to an uptake level of 60.6 per cent. This was a slight increase - 0.9 percentage points - from the previous year.
For the first time, the number of pupils entitled to FSM surpassed 100,000; at 101,063 this represents 30.6 per cent of pupils. This was an increase of 3,545 (3.6 per cent) on the previous year.
There was a rise in the percentage of pupils entitled to FSM in most school types; with secondary schools showing the greatest percentage point increase going from 37.1 per cent in 2014/15 to 39.9 per cent this year.
This increase is likely to relate to the extension of the Working Tax Credit free school meal criterion to post-primary pupils in September 2014.
Nursery and grammar schools saw a small increase.
About one in five children - close to 16,000 pupils - who are eligible for free school meals, still do not avail of them. Even though the scheme is designed to help ease the financial burden on families, many choose to instead pay for lunches.
When considering the number of FSM provided as a proportion of the number of pupils entitled, uptake on meals census day was 81.1 per cent, up half a percentage point from the previous year.
Special schools were the only school type that saw a decrease in FSM uptake, going from 84.5 per cent last year to 81.2 per cent.
Education minister John O'Dowd has urged all families entitled to FSM to take up their entitlement.
The significance of free school meals, he said, must not be underestimated and should be seen in the context of his department's overarching goals - to raise standards and close the performance gap, increasing access and equality.
