adminGwanda Correspondent
THE Government is mobilising resources to resume the School Feeding Scheme in a bid to help reduce the number of pupils dropping out of school due to hunger.
The scheme had stopped in most parts of the country because of lack of funding.
Responding to written questions from Chronicle, the acting secretary for Primary and Secondary Education Mr Lysias Crispen Bowora said the Government was making efforts to ensure the scheme continued.
“The School Feeding Programme is a Government funded initiative which unfortunately did not receive budget allocation in 2013. Efforts are underway to mobilise resources to continue with this programme,” he said.
However, Mr Bowora said details concerning the funds needed for the programme would be available once they completed consultations.
“The details will be availed when full consultations are completed,” he said.
The programme had been used to motivate pupils especially from poor families to attend school.
However, when the programme stopped, children started dropping out of school.
At least 3 000 pupils in Matabeleland South Province dropped out of school this year because of a number of reasons chief among them being drought.
“Matabeleland South has a school dropout pattern that shows a gender trend with a higher rate for male learners than females. For boys past puberty age, it is related to the lure to gold panning and unskilled jobs in neighbouring countries.
“The Ministry seeks to implement the School Feeding Programme in all schools, with priority focus on the Infant Education Level which covers ECD (Early Childhood Development) A and ECD B as well as Grades one and two,” said Mr Bowora.
He said children in ECD classes start missing school during this time of the year when their parents might not be able to accompany them.
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