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Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Correspondent
Government has instructed all schools in the country to construct storage facilities and prepare feeding points ahead of the roll out of a $200 million national schools feeding scheme next term.
There are 3 140 400 pupils in primary and 1 026 980 in secondary schools countrywide and Government is targeting to feed 1 300 000 infants.
The number of secondary school pupils needing food could not be made available yesterday.
Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Professor Paul Mavhima said the feeding scheme would begin when schools opened next month.
He said Government was targeting pupils in primary and secondary schools in 26 districts, while in other districts focus would be on Early Childhood Development (ECD), Grade One and Two pupils.
“For emergency relief, we will target all learners from the 26 districts most affected by the drought,” Prof Mavhima said.
“This will feed all learners from infant to secondary. For the national rollout, we will start with infants in May and then do a phased rollout until all learners are covered. All schools have been instructed to prepare storage facilities and feeding points before the national launch and in preparation for the national roll out of the programme.”
He said a taskforce had been set up to identify the most prone areas and look for required resources.
Government’s intervention comes in the wake of serious food shortages in most parts of the country, with at least three million people said to be in urgent need of food aid.
Cabinet, a fortnight ago, approved a $200 million national schools feeding scheme to feed schoolchildren to ensure food security following an El-Nino-induced drought.
Asked whether Government would be able to meet the demand, Prof Mavhima said: “But can Government afford to feed the nation?
“If it can, then it can afford to feed the kids. Our donors will also bring foods like porridge and mahewu.”
He said development partners such as UNICEF, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation, would share responsibilities to raise more resources.
Schoolchildren according to Government, would receive sadza, beans or vegetables for lunch sourced locally, while porridge would be served for break- fast.
Prof Mavhima said provinces such as Masvingo, the Midlands and the Matabeleland regions were hard hit by drought, with reports that some pupils had since stopped going to school while others are collapsing in class.
The worst affected areas include Binga, Tsholotsho, Nkayi and Lupane and by October 2015, around 3 000 pupils had dropped out of school in Matabeleland North province due to hunger.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Tapiwa Matangaidze, said the schools feeding programme would soon commence with his ministry assuring that no one should starve.
“That programme is going on, Government policy says no one is allowed to go hungry because currently there are concentrated efforts to ensure that we avail enough grain to meet the required demand,” he said.
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