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Tinomuda Chakanyuka, Senior Reporter
THE Government has started distributing grain to schools across the country under the national schools feeding programme, amid reports that some schools in Bulawayo Province were conveying the maize to parents.
Sunday News gathered that some schools in the province claim that they don’t have capacity to cook for pupils and mill the grain before distributing it to parents. However, acting Bulawayo provincial education director Mrs Olicah Kaira on Friday dismissed the reports as false. She said all schools in the province were complying with the dictates of the programme and preparing meals for pupils on school premises.
“I don’t think that’s true (that schools are distributing maize to parents). What is prevailing on the ground is schools are serving pupils isitshwala with relish. Some schools are even serving samp,” she said.
She added, “You can come to my office on Monday and I can give you the exact outline of how each school in the province is implementing the programme.”
Mrs Kaira said the programme was at the moment targeting primary schools but plans were in motion to spread the programme to secondary schools.
“All primary schools in the province are receiving grain and the programme is going on well. Plans are underway to take secondary schools on board although there are some who have already started implementing the programme independently,” she said.
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Cde Petronella Kagonye whose ministry is responsible for distribution of maize to schools said each school was getting weekly allocations proportionate to their enrolment. She said the Government would soon be distributing rice to schools to support the feeding programme.
“Schools are collecting their weekly allocations from a Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depot nearest to them. We started with primary schools but plans are to include secondary schools in the near future. Soon we shall be distributing rice depending on availability. The idea is to support what the respective Schools Development Associations and Committees (SDA/Cs) would have put together,” she said.
While Cde Kagonye could not give off the cuff the exact tonnage budgeted for the programme, she said the Government had enough grain stocks to sustain the programme. She also said the Government had enough grain reserve to respond to, to avert a drought situation if it were to arise.
“The programme is sustainable. We have enough stocks to sustain the programme. From what I got from my colleague in the Ministry of Agriculture, we have over one million tonnes of grain reserves. That is enough grain to avert any drought situation,” she said.
The Cabinet, in 2016, approved a $200 million national schools feeding scheme to feed schoolchildren, to ensure food security following the El Nino-induced drought in 2015/2016 agricultural season. The Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) was launched in August last year.
The national schools feeding programme was launched in July last year at Mpumelelo Primary School in Mpopoma, Bulawayo.
Under the programme which targeted 8 651 schools and about 4,2 million learners at its launch, schools are expected to provide at least one balanced meal for pupils at primary level. Schools are also expected to run nutrition gardens to augment the programme. — @irielyan
Online Reporter