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School feeding improves enrolment

Pupils of Kpongu Kindergarten queue for foodThe Upper West Regional Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Hajia Salmat C. Hamza, has said the programme has led to a substantial increase in enrolment of children in schools.

She said the number of schools which benefited from the GSFP had also improved the attendance of pupils at school as well as their continuous stay in school.
Madam Hamza, who was speaking to the Junior Graphic during a visit to some beneficiary schools in the Wa municipality, said schools which benefited from the programme had increased from 59 in 2010 to 489 as of June 2013.

A visit to some of the beneficiary schools revealed that many basic schools in the municipality were yet to benefit from the GSFP after 10 years of its introduction.

During the rounds, it came to light that some of the beneficiary schools did not have proper kitchens and potable water  while the quality of food was compromised.

In some schools, there were not enough plates to serve the children which compelled them  to use whatever container they laid hands on for their meals.

At the Kpongu Kindergarten, for example, it was a sorry sight indeed. The school, which operated on rented premises, was also in a very deplorable state.

Madam Hamza said the district nutrition officers had, in collaboration with caterers, drafted a menu to serve as a guide for the caterers in their preparation of food for the children.

In addition, she said her office had  assisted in the formation of an association of caterers and held orientation sessions for them on the GSFP.

" Community participation in the programme is very high and most beneficiary communities now hold caterers accountable for misconduct by reporting them to the regional secretariat of the GSFP or alerting the media," Madam Salmat noted.

By Chris Nunoo / Junior Graphic / Ghana

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