Governor of Kaduna State, Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai, today, flagged off free feeding in the state primary schools, saying that this is part of free education he promised the people of the state.
In the free feeding programme, 1.5 million children in over 4,000 pubic primary schools in the state are expected to be beneficiaries.
Flagging off the School Feeding Programme at Aliyu Makama LEA Primary School in Barnawa, Kaduna today, El-Rufai said that the intervention is aimed to boosting the nutrition and health of the children and also to encourage school attendance.
The governor emphasized that the programme was part of the free education project initiated by the administration to expand access to education and ensure that every child “can have nine years of free, decent basic education no matter the income level of their parent.”
According to El-Rufai, the programme is directly creating 17,000 jobs for caterers, who in turn will employ others to support them.
“It is an unprecedented undertaking in the state, but one that we solemnly pledge to do during the campaign.
“In seeking to take care of our children we are creating jobs, boosting demand and expanding people to new skills and hygienic standard, and providing extra income.”
The governor advised those involved in the programme to discharge their responsibilities with commitment and accountability.
“We invite the schools-based management committees and Parent Teacher Associations to review and provide us with their observation on the implementation of the programme at the school level.”
He said that since the introduction of free education by the government, enrollment in public primary schools in the state had risen by 64 per cent even as he announced that the Federal Government would, in due course, reimburse the state of 60 per cent of the amount it spent on the school feeding programme. [myad]
