The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu Senior Reporter
PARENTS with children at primary schools in Bulawayo that will give food under the National Schools Feeding Programmme will contribute money to fund the procurement of the food, an official has said. Bulawayo Metropolitan provincial education director Mr Dan Moyo told the Sunday News that they have asked the School Development Committees to ensure that a portion of the levy paid by the parents goes to the programme.
“We asked the School Development Committee (SDC) to reserve a portion of the levies that the pupils pay and channel it to the feeding programme. We also asked the pupils to contribute at least $1 towards that programme,” he said.
The PED said only children that afford can pay the contribution to the school and it will be used to aid the less fortunate who are failing to be fed from home. He said they have also made a call to the business community in the city to chip in with resources to support the programme.
“We have asked the business community to come in to help the children that need feeding in the communities, be it in cash or kind. We welcome any assistance that will see the programme moving forward,” said Mr Moyo.
The Government initially wanted the feeding scheme to cater for pupils at Early Childhood Development (ECD) but later changed to encompass all primary school children.
“We also put into consideration that if we fail to feed the children in school they will go back home and still not eat as some live in child-headed families that desperately need assistance from us. So we decided to feed from ECD up to Grade Seven,” said Mr Moyo.
Mr Moyo said Bulawayo province will ask the SDC run tuck-shops in the primary schools to give the less privileged children food from the tuckshops which will be paid up by the SDC. He said even if the tuckshops are run by individuals the rentals that are paid should cater for the food for the pupils. Mr Moyo said the province was also in the process of twinning with schools in Manicaland that produce fruits.
“We are consulting schools that grow bananas in Manicaland so that they twin with local ones and they get bananas supplied on a regular basis because part of the feeding scheme requires that each child be given a fruit a day for nutrition purposes,” he said.
The PED said since the Government has also extended food aid for drought relief in urban centres, there was hope that some of the food will be channeled to schools.
“It is my hope that we get some maize allocation from the urban drought relief programme and we feed the children too, I will consult on how this can be done so that we assist the programme,” he said. The PED said secondary schools feeding was optional.
“Secondary schools feeding is per the choice of the school, if they feel they want to feed their less fortunate they can do so but if they do not see the need, it is still fine,” he said.
The Government launched the feeding programme in July at Mpumelelo Primary School and it is set to benefit primary school pupils across the country.
