Zamfara: Parents regret the end of free meals in public schools

Parents and guardians of students attending public schools in Zamfara State have expressed regret that the suspension of free meals for students by the State government may deter children from enrolling in public institutions.

They observed that the free feeding encouraged children to arrive on time at school, which had a favorable effect on the development of education.

However, a thorough examination by pressloaded revealed that the rate of student enrolment has significantly decreased after the State administration halted the free meals in the schools, likely as a result of the teething insecurity issue.

Since the State government chose to stop providing meals in the schools, some pupils at the Government Girls’ Day Secondary School in Gusau who spoke with this medium stated they now bring their prepared meals from home to the school.

They acknowledged that some pupils at the school have ceased attending, noting that this may not be unrelated to the State government’s choice to stop providing the students with food.

Alhaji Mohammed Adamu, one of the parents and guardians, claims that the State government formed the State’s feeding agency to encourage the young people to enroll in public schools in large numbers. He adds that since the feedings have been suspended, the agency’s goal has been defeated.

The feeding program was started by the same State government that is now suspending it.

In order to encourage students to attend classes regularly, the organization was founded in 2000 by Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima, the State’s first executive governor.

The program was in place before the current administration took office, so he argued that there was no justifiable reason to stop it because doing so would have a negative impact on the state’s educational system.

He claims that because the providers of the food to the schools will be out of work, the suspension will also have an economic impact on them.

In order to convince the State administration to change its mind and safeguard the education sector, he continued, “We have been contacting stakeholders and educationists.”

The pupils’ free meals, according to Adamu, had a favorable impact in drawing large numbers of students to attend public schools.

Because so many pupils are so unwilling to return to their classrooms, he remarked, “the suspension has increased the number of out-of-school children in the State.”