Perception of Pupils, on Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the perception of pupils on the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria. The research utilized a cross-sectional survey research design on a population of 66591 pupils in the selected public primary schools. A sample of 540 pupils was used for the study. The instrument for data collection is a 30-item “Questionnaire on Perception of Pupils on Home Grown School Feeding Programme (QPPHGSFP).” Four hundred and eighty-six (486) copies of each questionnaire were administered and 483 (99.4%) were retrieved. Data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Chi-square statistic was used to test the null hypothesis at a p<0.05 level of significance. Result showed that HGSFP makes the pupils to enroll, attend, remain in school. Pupils like the quality and the size of the food served, and it was locally produced. Age, sex, and class level was not significant (p>0.05) while the location was significant (p<0.05). Conclusively pupils’ perception was good on HGSFP. We recommend that the government and other stakeholders in charge of the programme should remain committed to providing the needed resources for the smooth running of the programme to improve the educational infrastructure of rural communities.

Locally-Procured Fish Is Essential in School Feeding Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Access to fish and fish products may be greater for populations located closer to water bodies, and schools located further away from water bodies may be less inclined to include fish in HGSF. Supply and access to fish were cited as challenges in a couple of studies [ 63 , 88 , 91 , 92 ]. Three studies in Nigeria [ 88 , 91 , 92 ] noted rather small quantities of fish in school meals, one included a cost–benefit analysis showing that school meals including 2–4 g of fish on a dry weight basis were nutritionally adequate for the cost [ 88 ], while another discussed the low zinc content of meals possibly linked to inadequate quantities of fish included [ 92 ].…”

“…Supply and access to fish were cited as challenges in a couple of studies [ 63 , 88 , 91 , 92 ]. Three studies in Nigeria [ 88 , 91 , 92 ] noted rather small quantities of fish in school meals, one included a cost–benefit analysis showing that school meals including 2–4 g of fish on a dry weight basis were nutritionally adequate for the cost [ 88 ], while another discussed the low zinc content of meals possibly linked to inadequate quantities of fish included [ 92 ]. However, fish was not always included in meals due to issues with regular supply [ 88 ].…”