The role of the national home grown school feeding programme (NHGSFP) in curbing school drop-out of pupils in katsina state
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
School feeding programs are important initiatives that have been implemented in many developed and developing nations across the world to combat poverty, increase school enrollment, and improve student performance. Almost 60 million children in poor nations go to school hungry every day, with Africa accounting for almost 40% of them. As a result, providing school meals is critical in terms of feeding students. Parents are encouraged to send their children to school rather than keep them at home to work or look after siblings (Akanbi, 2013). The introduction of school feeding can be traced back to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) initiative and subsequent African leaders’ conferences aimed at addressing issues such as peace, security, good economic, political, and corporate governance, and making the continent an appealing destination for foreign investment. The ‘New Partnership for African Development,’ according to the blueprint, is a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, to eradicate poverty and put their countries on a path of sustainable growth and development while also participating actively in the global economy and politics. Among other efforts, the ‘Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme’ and the ‘Millennium Hunger Task Force’ were created to link school meals to agricultural development through the purchase and consumption of locally produced food (Bundy et al., 2009).
Nigeria was one of the twelve (12) pilot countries chosen to carry out the initiative. Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Mali are among the countries that have started implementing the school feeding program. As a consequence, in 2004, the Federal Government passed the Universal Basic Education Act, which created the necessary legal framework for the Home Grown School Feeding and Health Program to be implemented. In 2005, the Federal Ministry of Education created the Home Grown School Feeding and Health Program in order to achieve the goals of the Universal Basic Education program and to emphasize the importance of nutrition. The ultimate objective of Nigeria’s School Feeding Program is to eliminate hunger and malnutrition among schoolchildren while also improving Universal Basic Education performance. Kastina was chosen as one of the twelve (12) states to undertake a phased–pilot rollout of the program. Despite the fact that the Home Grown School Feeding and Health Program was created, it did not attract much attention until November 2010, when the State’s administration changed. Following that, the new administration, led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, organized an education summit, which was chaired by Professor Moses Yinka. The summit’s goal was to critically analyze the issues impeding education growth and advancement in the state and provide practical solutions. At the conclusion of the Summit, suggestions were made to reposition education in Kastina State, including the reform of the School Feeding Program. Following that, a thorough examination of the previous school feeding program was conducted. The program was renamed “Kastina Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme – K’meals” and repackaged. It was initially introduced in the State on April 30, 2012, with students in Grades 1-3 of the State’s Public Primary Schools receiving one meal each day (Ministry of Education,2014).
Although much has been written about the benefits of the School Feeding Program to students, less has been written about the program’s influence on reducing school dropouts. As a result, this study aims to close the gap by evaluating the School Feeding Program as it is implemented in Kastina, Kastina State, Nigeria’s public elementary schools.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Food has been identified as one of the instruments that can assist primary school students study more effectively. Because education is one of the world’s economic development elements, effective strategies for delivering education to students should be carefully designed, particularly in elementary schools, which establish the basis for learning globally. The county has low retention rates. The enrolment rate was quite high, but the completion rate was very low (Ministry of Education 2007). The county is one of the counties having feeding programs, but it did not have a favorable image in terms of learning effectiveness in terms of retention; rather, learning was relatively poor. Many empirical research demonstrates that school feeding programs help students stay in school and lower dropout rates in elementary schools in many poor nations (Lepheane et al., 2011). According to reports, many children, particularly those from low-income households, skipped school because they couldn’t afford meals and other essential school needs. This has caused the county’s officials a great deal of anxiety, necessitating the creation of a nationwide homegrown school feeding program.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The overall goal of the research is to:
- Investigate the impact of national home-grown school feeding program on curbing school dropouts of pupils in Kastina state.
- Investigate if there is a relationship between the national home grown school feeding program and retaining school pupils in Kastina state.
iii. Examine the perception of school pupils towards the national home-grown school feeding program in Kastina state.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions guide the objective of the study:
- What is the impact of the national homegrown school feeding program on curbing school dropouts of pupils in Kastina state?
- Is there a significant relationship between the national home grown school feeding program and retaining school pupils in Kastina state?
iii. What is the perception of school pupils towards the national home-grown school feeding program in Kastina state?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The overall goal of this study is to examine the role of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) in curbing school drop-out of pupils in Katsina State.
The purpose of the study is to determine how the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) prevents school pupils from dropping out.
This study will contribute to the current literature in this field and will also serve as a resource for academics, researchers, and students who may want to do future research on this or a comparable issue.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The research was limited to examining the role of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) in curbing school drop-out of pupils in Katsina State. This study is delimited to some selected primary schools in Katsina State.
1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY
The study was limited due to the short time frame, budget and the inability to cover all schools in Kastina state.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP): The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) is a government-led N70 per day school feeding programme that aims to improve the health and educational outcomes of public primary school pupils.
School drop:Dropping out means leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessity, inability, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves.
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