Hammed Shittu
The federal governemnt has expressed concern over the non-implementation of its National Home Grown School Programme in Kwara and Bayelsa States.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Farouk, who stated this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital during a courtesy visit to the Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi, added that other 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had already enrolled into the programme.
She attributed the state’s delay in the enrolment to initial non-compliance with the programme’s guidelines and COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister said “with the relaxation of lockdown caused by COVID-19 and resumption of schools, the state will soon be there.”
Represented by Special Assistant to the President on National and Social Investment Programme, Dr. Nasir Mahmud, the minister said the state recently expressed its preparedness to come on board the programme.
She said based on the data available from the state, about 96,000 pupils in public schools from primary one to three would benefit from the programme, adding that over 1,500 schools would also be enrolled.
She added that primary one to three pupils are the targets of the school feeding programme in the country.
“Recently, the state communicated to the ministry that it is ready and we are here to assess the status of the preparedness and if there is any support we need to give, the ministry will give to make the state come on board.
“So far, we are very happy with what we saw. We just debriefed the state deputy governor about our findings. There are very few gaps here and there and we believe together with the national and state governments we will soon address them to make sure the state begins the programme. In a matter of weeks I am confident that the programme will commence in the state.”
She said the programme had steadied enrolment of pupils in public schools in the federation. “We have seen tremendous improvement in schools’ enrolment in the country. The other objective of the programme is to make sure students stay in schools resulting in learning improvement,” the minister added.
In his remarks, the deputy governor urged the federal governemnt to be patient with the state, agreeing that the advantages inherent in the programme are phenomenal.
He said the programme would increase enrolment of pupils in schools, boost the economy of the state and generate employment.
