President Bola Tinubu has reintroduced the school feeding programme and mandated its transfer from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to that of Education.
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman disclosed the development on Thursday, December 21, 2023, during a workshop on improving education initiatives held in Abuja.
The programme, previously halted under former President Muhammadu Buhari, will now fall under the Education Ministry’s purview, aiming to not only provide nutritious meals to pupils but also encourage attendance and enhance learning.
President Tinubu believes this relaunch was crucial in “checking the learning crisis” and fostering a better educational environment for all children.
Mamman said, the retreat’s goal was, “to figure out how to put all of the policies created to address the issues into practice and assign accountability to various organisations in charge of solving the issue of out-of-school youth.”
The school feeding programme’s return is expected to address several challenges faced by out-of-school children, including hunger, poverty, and lack of access to education.
“By providing a daily meal and a welcoming environment, the programme can incentivise enrolment and attendance, particularly in marginalised communities”, the Minister said.
