School Feeding Programme to keep 24 million children in schools – FG
The Federal Government of Nigeria has said on Monday in Abuja that its Home-Grown School Feeding programme would keep at least 24 million children in schools when fully implemented.
Speaking at the 3rd edition of Nigeria Education Innovation Summit (NEDIS) organized by The Education Partnership centre (TEP), the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu said the programme would increase enrolment of children in basic education and boost their cognitive performance and effective learning outcomes.
Represented by Executive Director, Research and Innovation, National Universities Commission, Audu Mohammed, the Minister added that the Federal Government had developed strategic plan to address the challenges of out-of-school children in the country.
He said: “It is in recognition of the critical role education plays in the realization of sustainable development that the present administration has placed it among its key priorities.
“To drive this home, the federal ministry of education developed a strategic plan based on ten pillars of core measureable goals. These include addressing the challenges of out-of-school children, strengthening basic and secondary education, teacher education, capacity building and professional development, adult literacy and special needs education.
“The Federal Government had embarked on innovative programmes like the Home-Grown School Feeding programme geared towards retaining at least 24 million children in schools upon full implementation. It would increase enrolment of the children in basic education and boost their cognitive performance and effective learning outcomes.”
He said the government had initiated reform in the education sector to reassess the state of education in Nigeria and refocus the sector to meet the challenges of nation building.
“Nigeria is undergoing monumental changes geared towards unleashing the creative energies of the citizens to drive our national vision and aspiration as a people,” he said.
“To this end, unprecedented reform initiatives are now being implemented in the education sector, with a clear intent on reassessing the state of the education system and strategically refocusing and repositioning the sector to meet the challenges of nation building in the 21st century.”
Managing Director, TEP Centre, Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, in her remarks, called for the continuous implementation of education programmes in the country, saying, “What we want to do is to provide ongoing support for organizations that are implanting brilliant ideas in the education sector. We want to continue to give them support until they reach a point where their innovations and the programmes they are implementing are able to reach more children that were originally excluded.”
