Enugu to launch school feeding programme

The Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) said yesterday that it would start a School Feeding Programme in public primary schools in the state in 2016.
Chairperson of the board, Ms Nneka Onuorah, said the programme would begin with a pilot scheme in  selected public schools. Onuorah said mothers of the pupils and their communities would be involved in the programme.
“Unlike in the past where the government used vendors to provide meals to children, this school feeding programme is more unique in that the community is fully involved. It involves the mothers; who will be distributed into teams of two or three. So each week, at least say team A group of mothers will cook and feed the children and then they will rotate. The following week, team B group of mothers will cook for the children. Now, we find this model to be the most sustainable and we hope that we can branch it out to other schools in other communities and LGs”, she said.
Onuorah, who said the state government would include the programme in the 2016 budget, appealed to the federal government to support it. She said the board also sponsored a de-worming project in primary school between June and Nov. 2015. According to her, nearly 300,000 children benefited.
She further stated that the board organised series of training and re-training for teachers to enable them to manage schools effectively. (NAN)