Why school feeding programme continues despite school closure –FG

The Federal Government has explained why it has decided to continue the home-grown school feeding programme in Lagos State despite the school closure occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic.

It said the gesture is to help parents of public primary 1-3 pupils who are beneficiaries of the ‘one meal per day’ programme to cushion the financial challenge they may face during this period of partial lockdown and schools’ closure.

The Special Assistant to the President on National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), Mrs. Titilola Adeyemi-Doro, gave the explanation last week in Lagos at a meeting held in conjunction with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) where she also met with the school-based management committees and education secretaries, among other critical stakeholders of the programme in the state.

She said her coming to Lagos with loads of foodstuffs to distribute to parents of students under the school feeding programme was at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the meeting was to workout modalities to ensure the items get to the intended beneficiaries.

She listed the food items in each pack for each parent to include 5kg rice, 5kg beans, 500ml of vegetable oil, 750ml of palm oil, 500mg of salt, half crate of eggs and tomato paste.

Speaking further, Mrs Adebisi-Doro, in a statement made available to newsmen by the head of public affairs of Lagos SUBEB, Mrs Enitan Adewunmi, disclosed that many centres had been identified across the state for beneficiaries to collect their packages after producing the vouchers given earlier for the purpose.

She noted that parents of pupils who attend private schools would not benefit from the package simply because it is believed that being able to afford to send their children to private school, they are more financially comfortable to cater for their needs and those of their children.

Mrs. Adeyemi-Doro pleaded with those who would be in charge of the distribution to ensure the items get to right persons, who are public primary 1-3 pupils already under the feeding programme and their peers who were yet to be captured before the lockdown.

In his remarks at the forum, the executive chairman, Lagos SUBEB, Mr Wahab Alawiye-King, who is a former state legislator, said the essence of the stakeholders’ meeting was to ensure openness and transparency in the distribution of the palliatives.

He assured that government would mobilize security operatives to designated distribution centres to ensure the process is rancour-free and that people maintain social distancing and observe other preventive guidelines against COVID- 19 pandemic.

On their own separate contributions on behalf of respective groups, central chairman of Apapa and Apapa-Iganmu LCDA schools-based management committee and Baale of Marine Beach, Dr. Joseph Ogunmola, and the chairman of Conference of Education Secretaries in Lagos State, Mr. Amodu Abolore, commended the initiative, saying it would relief parents of financial burdens and also help pupils to concentrate on learning as they continue to stay at home.

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