Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza joins ECDE learners to taste a cup of uji during the launch of the school meals and nutrition program.
By The Peak
Enrolment in Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) classes in Meru County is expected to increase after the launch of the school meals and nutrition program by the county governor Kawira Mwangaza on Friday.
The program will see all the 60,000 learners from 777 primary schools within the County get a cup of porridge on a daily basis from Monday to Friday.
During the launch held at the County headquarters, Governor Mwangaza, who issued an initial cheque of Sh23 million for the remainder of this term, said that the program will cost Sh78 million every financial year.
She said the move will not only retain the young children in schools but also ensure that their nutrition is correct as per the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) directives.
“Some children in the semi-arid parts of this County go to school on an empty stomach which makes it hard for them to remain in school. This initiative will ensure that more are retained in their respective schools and with the firm foundation of education at their early stages, the learners will also excel in their academics in future,” said Ms Mwangaza.
She said the County government would be issuing money to specific schools to buy maize and finger millet for the porridge and it will be the prerogative of the already formed committees to know where they will buy the ingredients from,” said the Governor recommending that the committees should consider giving priority to people neighboruing the schools.
Mwangaza affirmed that the program will be sustainable throughout her administration and beyond.
“We will partner with our parents in doing this and I want to assure them that we are committed to ensure its success. If anything, we will be adding food to the program but not withdrawing it,” said Governor Mwangaza.
She said the county government would ensure the program was seamless by deploying monitoring teams to all the schools to check the progress.
She called on well-wishers and other non-government organizations to join them in ensuring that children were retained in school by enhancing the feeding program.
Other than the feeding program, Ms Mwangaza issued a Sh 58 million cheque that will go into infrastructure development of Vocational Training Centres in the County.
