SCHOOLS LAMENT POOR IMPLEMENTATION OF HOME SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME IN EBONYI
Reporter: AMECHI ODO
Some benefitting schools have decried the poor implementation of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Ebonyi State as they claimed that vendors only supplied food to their pupils for two months since the commencement of the 2021 academic activities.
They stated this when a Task Team from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development visited some of the benefitting schools in Izzi and Abakaliki Local Government Areas.
The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme commenced in 2017 with over one thousand and fifty schools benefitting in Ebonyi State.
However, after 2018 verification by the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of benefitting schools dropped to five hundred and sixty one.
The Head Mistress of Central Urban School 1 Abakaliki, Mrs. Stella Obika, and the Head Teacher of Ndiechi Onuebonyi Community Primary School 2 in Izzi Local Government Area, Mr. Celestine Nwokocha, said after the COVID-19 break, it was only in the months of May and July 2021 that vendors supplied food to their pupils.
The situation was worse in Central Urban School 2 Abakaliki as the Headmistress, Ms. Nkemdirim Okpala, explained that the programme failed in her school after COVID 19 break.
A vendor, Miss Ndidiamaka Nwovu, who said she is being paid One hundred and forty-five thousand Naira to cook for school children monthly, blamed irregular supply of food on payment inconsistency.
One of the benefitting pupils who didn’t mention his name, appealed to the Federal Government to sustain the feeding programme as many of them now come to class on empty stomach.
The Project Task Team Leader, who is also the Special Assistant to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on Administration, Mr. Kingsley Ngene, noted that they had embarked on enumeration of benefitting pupils to address challenges confronting the programme.
Mr. Ngene expressed the hope that the outcome would help in expanding the programme to accommodate more schools.