The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development says it has spent over N1.8 billion on Homegrown School Feeding Programme in three years in Ondo State.
Kemisola Olasetemi, the Ondo State Team Leader of the Programme, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Akure after monitoring the biometric data capturing of benefiting pupils.
Mrs Olasetemi said the school feeding programme had 108,842 primary school pupils being fed through the exercise in the state.
She said the biometric capturing of the pupils would help the Federal Government (FG) to have accurate data of the pupils with a view to planning the programme.
She added that the biometric data would also enable the government to know those that would be newly enrolled and those that should exit the programme.
The team leader said the ministry was working in collaboration with National Orientation Agency (NOA) that supplied the forms and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who were capturing the data.
Mrs Olasetemi, who said that she was satisfied with the way and manner the pupils were being fed in the schools monitored so far, thanked the teachers for maintaining hygiene of the pupils.
”The Programme is covering the enumeration of pupils from primary one to primary three, and we are going round schools to ensure that we monitor the programme.
“It is to ensure the pupils are being fed by the standard we laid down,” she said.
Mrs Olasetemi noted that the process, which would be continuous, would help the partners of the programme and further attract the support of the Federal Government to the ministry.
She urged the vendors to be up and doing and ensure that the vision of the programme was fully supported.
Also speaking, Ganiyu Adeyanju, the head teacher, St. John RCM Primary School, Igbara Oke, thanked the FG for the school feeding programme which he said had helped with the enrolment into the school.
Mr Adeyanju noted that many parents had jettisoned private schools because of the programme.
Also, Funmilayo Odefila, headmistress of The Apostolic Primary School 1, Ilaramokin, said the programme had helped in the enrollment drive of the school.
“Since inception of this programme, more children have been coming to the school. Even parents have been bringing their children from private school to the school,” she added.
(NAN)
