President Bola Tinubu has reintroduced the school feeding programme and mandated its transfer from the Humanitarian Ministry to the Education Ministry.
The programme was reintroduced in a bid to tackle the crisis of out-of-school children and improve learning outcomes.
This announcement was made by Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman during a workshop on improving education initiatives.
The programme, previously halted under former President Muhammadu Buhari, will now fall under the Education Ministry’s purview, aiming to not only provide nutritious meals to pupils but also encourage attendance and enhance learning. President Tinubu believes this relaunch is crucial to “checking the learning crisis” and fostering a better educational environment for all children.
Minister Mamman stressed the retreat’s goal: “to figure out how to put all of the policies created to address the issues into practice and assign accountability to various organisations in charge of solving the issue of out-of-school youth.”
The school feeding programme’s return is expected to address several challenges faced by out-of-school children, including hunger, poverty, and a lack of access to education.
By providing a daily meal and a welcoming environment, the programme can incentivize enrollment and attendance, particularly in marginalized communities.
