SHOCKING revelations contained in a Unesco report launched yesterday in Windhoek show that the school-feeding programme in Namibia allocates a dollar per child per day.
The report on school dropouts and out-of-school children in Namibia dated December 2015 stated that the feeding programme needs additional attention and more finances at primary school level as it is an important source of nutrition for many poor children.
According to the report, the current cost of N$1 per child per day for food purchases indicates that the costs of raising this need not be astronomical.
The study was conducted by the education ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Unesco Institute for Statistics.
This shocking news comes after reports carried by The Namibian revealed that about 3 000 bags of maize meal, each weighing 12,5 kilogrammes, for the //Karas school-feeding programme were destroyed after they were deemed unfit for human consumption.
The government has set aside N$104 million for the National School-Feeding Programme (NSFP) this year for 320 000 primary school pupils.
Education permanent secretary Sanet Steenkamp yesterday said the N$104 million is shared among pupils for the 195 school days.
Deputy prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah agreed with the findings of the report in a speech read on her behalf by foreign affairs deputy minister Peya Mushelenga at a conference in Windhoek yesterday.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said more funding should be provided for the feeding programme, especially in primary schools, where the current spending is only N$1 per child.
She said investments in the quality and safety of schools and hostels are needed to promote a positive learning environment, while early grades should be taken closer to the community, considering the difficulties pupils face to get to school.
Steenkamp admitted that supplying food to schools is challenging.
“The difficulty we have is for the suppliers to procure the necessary raw white maize because of the extraordinary price increase as a result of the drought. We are putting mechanisms in place to see how best we can address the situation,” she stated.
Steenkamp said the ministry has three tender processes for the feeding programme.
The first is for the supply of maize meal, salt and sugar; the second tender is for blending, and the third for supplying.
The permanent secretary also said the ministry is struggling with the supply chain, even more so in the second semester which starts on 30 May.
Otjivero Primary School principal Rebecca Heita yesterday told The Namibian that the maize meal which is normally delivered each trimester at the school as part of the feeding programme is three weeks late.
Heita said the Omaheke regional education office told them they have not yet received supplies.
A teacher at the Uutsima Combined School in the Omusati region yesterday said they have not received supplies since the third trimester last year.
The school has about 500 pupils from pre-primary up to Grade 10.
The teacher, who preferred anonymity, said those in pre-primary up to Grade 7 are hardest-hit, and that the last consignment delivered last year was not enough.
According to the teacher, the regional office informed the school that government is short of supplies.
“We are experiencing dropouts and severe absenteeism. We have also observed a lack of concentration, especially among the young ones,” the teacher observed.
For many pupils, the porridge which is served at break time is the only source of nutrition they receive per day and encourages them to continue attending classes, as the majority of them come from impoverished households.
In September last year, National Planning Commission permanent secretary Leevi Hungamo said the State of Food Insecurity Report of 2015 released by the United Nations showed that 42,3% of Namibians were undernourished in 2014.
Namibia has since been experiencing a severe drought.
– tuyeimo@namibian.com.na
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