Withdrawal of school feeding programme lead to closure of schools

Day Nursery schools in the Wa East District are closing down due to the withdrawal of Catholic Relief Service (CRS)'s School Feeding Programme in its affiliated beneficiary schools.

The Catholic Relief Service is closing down its Food Assisted Child Survival (FACS) and School Feeding Programmes in the districts by September 2008.

As a result, it no longer distributes food to the schools on regular basis.

This has led to children dropping out on daily basis due to lack of food to retain them in class.

Speaking at the launch of the Wa East District Health Community Child Survival Campaign Activities at Tinniabelle, Mr Alidu Baforko, Wa East District Head Teachers Adviser, bemoaned the situation and mentioned Jumo Nursery School as one of such schools that had already closed down.

He said efforts to get the children back to school was becoming difficult as their parents whose farms were devastated by floods last year, did not immediately have the means to keep them in school.

The campaign was on the theme: "Breast feeding, the best way for a healthy child and mother".

He said the Take Home Food Rational programme initiated for girls by the CRS had helped to increase girls' enrolment in schools.

"The gains that we have made in enrolment and retaining of children in schools would be eroded. Illiteracy rate in the district would also continue to be high if prompt attention is not given to address the situation", he said.

Mr Baforko suggested to the government to dialogue with the CRS to at least cater for the feeding of school children at the nursery level.

He also suggested to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to collaborate with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to establish school farms to produce food to feed the schools.