The government’s move to take over the school feeding scheme is laudable. For years, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been providing support to the government by feeding pupils from needy backgrounds and currently supports more than 500,000 children.
A total of 1.1 million pupils benefit from the scheme, mostly from arid and semi-areas. In many cases, the meals are what helps to keep the children in school, especially in circumstances where poverty denies them a decent meal at home.
By opting to take the full responsibility to support the programme and cutting reliance on donors, the government has done a noble thing.
Yet, much as the State sees the need to be independent and stop over-relying on donors — as it has stated — it is important that it does not forget the critical reason why the school feeding programme is there, in the first place.
There must not be any gaps left that could jeopardise the future of the school children from poor backgrounds.
The scheme must continue to run smoothly even as the government takes over. It is therefore gratifying that the State has retained WFP to continue providing the technical support for the programme.
Ideally, the initiative should be expanded to many other schools around the country. Even in relatively well-to-do regions, there are pupils from poor backgrounds who cannot afford decent meals.
Their learning is likely to be disadvantaged, if the program is interrupted. For the sake of equity, the government should eventually consider expanding the feeding scheme to all public schools.
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