Kwale, KENYA: Public primary schools in Kwale county have recorded a significant rise in the number of children being enrolled following the introduction of school feeding programme by government.
According to Kwale county chairman for Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA) Chirima Mgallah, enrollment of children has continuously increased due to provision of lunch time meals in primary schools.
“For instance the enrollment at Mwananyamala primary school figures stand at 1,013 up from 680 before the start of the feeding programme last year,” Mgallah said.
Mgallah who was speaking on Thursday during KEPSHA conference at Diani hotel in Msambweni sub-county noted that most children in public primary schools come from poor families that can’t afford to get a meal everyday.
“We are getting a lot of food now, which lasts the whole term and since last year the drop out rates has gone down in the county,” said Mgallah.
He appealed to the government to prioritize the allocation of funds to schools according to their specific needs and not according to the number of children enrolled in a school.
“Whether a school is big or small the capitation should be based on the needs of various schools and not the number of children,” he added.
School feeding programme is an initiative by the Ministry of Education through the World Food Programme for public primary school in arid and semi-arid areas.
Comments
comments
