Zvishavane- Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr. Lazarus Dokora has revealed school feeding programmes are key to the learning of pupils especially those in primary schools.
FOOD AT SCHOOLS ACTS AS INCENTIVES TO COME TO SCHOOL AND THUS ENCOURAGE LEARNING. THE GOVERNMENT IS WORKING TOWARDS PROVIDING FOOD TO ALL RURAL SCHOOLS
This was during his address to parents at his recent visit at Matenda Primary School.
Dr. Dokora was grateful of the assistance by World Food Programme (WPF) through its partner Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA Zimbabwe) which has been a productive and implementing partner in Development and Relief programmes in the region since 2013.
He highlighted that school feeding schemes as well as the provision of clean and safe water are among the Ministry’s top priorities and key deliverables in the current Education Sector Strategic Plan for 2016-2020.
World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director, Eddie Rowe, concurred with Dr Dokora on the importance of these school feeding programs.
He said, “Such programs like School Feeding can help keep students in school as we have seen pupils previously dropping out of school due to hunger issues caused by the El Nino induced drought which hit the country during the 2016/17 summer cropping season.”
“School meals act as an effective safety net, which not only prevent children from going hungry in the classroom, but also act as a tool for transformation, ensuring that every child has access to education, health and nutrition a task which was more difficult during times of drought and food shortages,” Rowe added.
To date, a total of 53 primary schools have benefited from the previous school feeding programs funded by WFP in partnership with ADRA Zimbabwe.
