Making school feeding transparent, sustainable and inclusive 

The Federal Government’s proposal to spend N60 billion on a school feeding programme in 2025 will be laudable only if the money is judiciously used for its intended purpose. The budget, therefore, demands careful and thorough scrutiny in its application for efficiency purposes.

Undoubtedly, Nigeria’s school feeding programme holds immense potential to benefit children, communities, and the nation. By providing free meals to public primary school pupils in a country plagued with mass poverty and huge challenges in meeting family commitments, school feeding aims to encourage parents to send their wards to school, increase enrollment and attendance, improve nutrition, and boost local agriculture. However, despite billions of naira invested since its relaunch in 2016, concerns about transparency and sustainability persist.

Launched in 2005, discontinued, and revived in 2015, the programme has seen varying degrees of success. While it has demonstrably improved enrollment and nutrition in some areas, challenges remain. These challenges include inconsistent food quality, inadequate infrastructure in remote areas, and logistical hurdles. Most importantly, allegations of corruption and mismanagement raise serious concerns about accountability and the efficient use of resources.

Nigeria ranks 109 out of 125 on the Global Hunger Index, with a staggering 32 per cent of children under five years stunted and two million suffering from severe acute malnutrition, according to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report. This stark reality contributes significantly to school absenteeism, highlighting the urgent need for effective interventions like the school feeding programme.

Reports indicate that the relaunched programme is one of the new projects to be executed by the Federal Ministry of Education under its Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) for 2025. Notably, the immediate past minister of education hinted that the ministry would handle the school feeding programme, which was where it originally started before it was moved to the Presidency.

The Federal Ministry of Education was allotted over N348 billion out of the total allocation of over N2.517 trillion for the sectors, which is among the highest among sectors, even though it is yet to meet the World Bank’s 20 to 30 per cent recommendation.

Further breakdown of the ministry’s budget for new project includes the allocation of N50 billion to support the Out-of-School Children (OSC) project while N1 billion was dedicated to the provision of learning materials resources for basic and secondary schools across the 36 states and the FCT as well as provision of modern learning material for 118 federal unity colleges.

In the 2023 appropriation budget, President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government budgeted N1 billion for the homegrown school feeding programme. About three years ago, the Federal Government claimed it was spending about N12 billion monthly on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) which was under the supervision of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (MHADMSD).

The then National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which is run by the ministry, Dr Umar Bindir, said the national school feeding programme, which began again in 2016 was cost-intensive as over 10 million children were captured under the scheme with each given a meal of N100 per day by the Buhari administration.

The programme had a two-fold purpose: to improve students’ health and education outcomes and to support local farmers and cooks. It was claimed that the programme achieved these goals but only lasted from 2016 to January 2023 due to the alleged diversion of funds. In December 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved continuing the school feeding programme, which was intended to serve basic educational levels.

While humongous allocations have since gone into the programme, no account has been rendered regarding how these funds were deployed. For efficiency, the Federal Government needs to look at the performance of previous funding. There should be accountability and transparency!  Funds should not be deployed without checks and balances at a time when the country is facing rising food inflation, which reached a 25-year high of 40.87 per cent in June 2024. Ensuring value for money has become more critical now than ever; every kobo spent must be accounted for.

Today, the rising cost of maintaining a healthy diet has put a strain on many Nigerians, as the average daily cost of a healthy diet in the country reached N1,255 per adult in August 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The NBS said the increase represented a 28 per cent rise compared to N982 in March 2024. At the state level, costs varied, with Ogun, Lagos, and Rivers states recording the highest average daily costs of N1,641, N1,615, and N1,572, respectively. In reality, the situation is much worse because one meal costs as much as N1,000 on average.

Further, the report noted that Katsina, Kaduna, and Sokoto, however, had the lowest costs, at N880, N951, and N980 per day. These regional disparities highlight the unequal access to affordable nutrition across the country.

NBS added that at the zonal level, the South West zone recorded the highest average daily cost of N1,554, followed by the South-South zone at N1,381. The North West zone recorded the lowest healthy diet cost at N1,041 per day.

Indeed, the lack of transparency regarding past spending raises red flags. Nigerians deserve a detailed account of how previous funds were utilised and a clear plan for how future allocations will be managed.

Several key steps must be taken, apart from transparency and accountability to maximize the programme’s impact and ensure its long-term sustainability. Robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms must be implemented to track progress, identify challenges, and ensure funds are used as intended. Funds should not end up in the accounts of some party faithful!

The Federal Government should investigate and address allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Handlers must ensure the programme reaches the most vulnerable children, including marginalised communities, and avoid exclusionary practices.

Truly, while Nigeria’s school feeding programme has the potential to be a powerful tool for human capital development, and to play a vital role in improving the lives of millions of Nigerian children, the government has a vital role in addressing the challenges, ensuring transparency, and prioritising accountability. In the long run, there is no alternative to the government pursuing policies that will empower parents, motivate them to send their children to school and enable them to take care of their children properly.