The federal government has proactively paid suppliers of foodstuffs and cooks under the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) for January 2020.
Under the HGSFP, a total of 9,963,726 pupils are fed in 54, 942 schools across the country served by 107,862 suppliers and cooks, while the programme is one of the components of the Social Investment Programme (SIP) of the federal government under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
In a statement made available to in Abuja Sunday, which was signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, Halima Oyelade, said the timely payment was to ensure that feeding the 9.9 million pupils in the participating states and the FCT starts immediately schools resume in the next two weeks.
She explained that the payment covered the cost of feeding pupils in the 33 participating states, adding that the funds were released in December to give the suppliers and cooks adequate time to procure and stock foodstuff to ensure that pupils eat their meals timely.
Farouq warned that the federal government would not accept any drop in the nutritional quality of the meals given to the children, revealing that government gladly received reports of improved attendance in the schools and improved hygiene among the pupils, adding that these outcomes were some of the reasons for setting up the programme.
“We believe that paying these funds early is critical to the success of the programme. We do not want any hitches, and we want to ensure that the school children are fed on time and without any excuses,” she said.
