|28 March 2018 | Ukorebi Esien
The homegrown school feeding programme initiated by the President Muhammadu Buhari's led administration has received wide accolades from both staff and pupils of Primary schools in Cross River State who said the scheme has made pupils to be more focused in class while learning takes place.
Speaking with newsmen who went round schools to inspect the project in the state,
A primary 3 pupil of Government Primary School Akim who identified herself as Eunice Offiong said 'Because of the food they give us I now come to school early, I don't use to stay to eat at home because my aunty prepares food late, even when I am in class, I don't use to think of hunger again instead I focus on what my teacher is teaching because I know I will eat during break'.
Also speaking, Head Teacher of the Ironbar Memorial Primary School, Calabar, Mrs. Ekom Egbai Egwudo said the programme is going on smoothly in her school but only appealed to the government to review the budget for the programme upward to accommodate more children who have enrolled in the school courtesy of the programme.
Cecilia Okon Umo, Head Teacher of the Special Education Primary and Secondary School Calabar, who spoke with our correspondent, said that the number of pupils have increased unexpectedly in her school for to the introduction of the programme in her schools.
Mrs. Umo maintained that special children who ordinarily were not interested in education have now become more serious adding that the population of her school has increased more than what she submitted to government on inception of the programme.
She said that 'I want to thank the federal government for this initiative, this school feeding programme has increased enrollment in my school. The number of special children we have now is more than 50% of what we submitted to government's.
Mrs. Umo maintained that special children who ordinarily were not interested in education have now become more serious adding that the population of her school has increased more than what she submitted to government on inception of the programme.
She said that 'I want to thank the federal government for this initiative, this school feeding programme has increased enrollment in my school. The number of special children we have now is more than 50% of what we submitted to government's.
One of the vendors Queensley Offiong Bassey, who spoke with newsmen had had this to say 'The truth is that, we are not making anything from this thing. We have gone beyond business to service because how do you expect us to use N70 to feed them with rice and chicken? We only want to appeal to the federal government to please look into reviewing the money to at least N150", She said.
She noted that, vendors are running the scheme now as charity as they are not making anything from the programme which ought to have been business.
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