Pupils of St Mary’s Kiryowa Primary School in Buikwe District are served porridge during break time on April 11, 2019. PHOTO /DENIS EDEMA
The introduction of compulsory government-funded school feeding in both pre-primary and primary levels will increase the learners’ enrolment rate by 10 percent, the Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) report has said.
The report titled Education for Values, Innovation, and Transformation, which was handed to the Minister of Education and Sports, Ms Janet Museveni, on Tuesday this week, indicates that the majority of the learners, especially in hunger-stricken areas, will remain in school once there is feeding.
“Introducing the school feeding programme is expected to result in a 10 percent increase in enrolment. In addition, school feeding can reduce malnutrition, and maximise developmental, educational potential, and educational attainment,” the report reads in part.
It adds: “The school feeding programme will also provide economic benefits through an increased market for agricultural products and therefore a boost to rural and agricultural development through enhanced wealth creation. This can be achieved through the existing structures of the Parish Development Model.”
The study findings come barely two months after Ms Museveni declared that the government through her ministry, starting the 2025/2026 financial year budget cycle, would start feeding learners.
She noted that the government would spend Shs3,000 per day on each child with Shs1,000 on break and Shs2,000 on lunch, if it were to adopt the rate that private schools currently use.
“Since all Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools are mandated to run only the day section, Shs2,000 would be forfeited. This means a school with 800 learners would require Shs216 million for feeding over a 90-day term,” she said on December 5, 2024, while presenting her ministry’s update on the implementation of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto.
The Col (Rtd) Nuwe Amanya Mushega-led EPRC report findings did not differ much from the minister estimates and reduced the cost from Ms Museveni’s projected Shs216b to Shs1.75b.
In estimation, the Commission notes that introducing a school feeding programme in pre-primary and primary will cost Shs1,220 per child and this money will cover food at Shs700, associated staff cost at Shs80, associated transport and logistics (Shs140), associated capital costs (Shs100), and a (Shs200) running cost.
Annually, the government, the report said, would spend Shs219,600 per pupil for an average of 180 calendar school days, resulting in an overall Shs1.75b for the eight million pre-primary and primary learners.
Ms Janet Musev- eni, the Minister of Education and Sports and the First Lady, receives the Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) report from the chairperson, Col (rtd) Amanya Mushega, and his deputy, Dr Joseph Muvawala, on February 5. The introduction of compulsory government-funded school feeding in both pre-primary and primary levels will increase the learners’ enrolment rate by 10 percent. PHOTO | COURTESY OF JANET MUSEVENI’S X-HANDLE
“While the above cost is high, government spending on school feeding provides educational benefits. School feeding programmes are often implemented to increase children’s access and participation in primary education by increasing enrolment and attendance rates and reducing absenteeism.
Education delivery in Uganda, the report noted, is hampered by a lack of school feeding programmes, with many learners arriving, and staying hungry at school across levels.
“During the regional field visits, the Commission observed that several schools within the various regions face high levels of hunger among the students particularly due to inadequate school feeding programmes. Insufficient capitation grants and the reluctance of parents to contribute to their children’s meals have left many students attending school on empty stomachs,” it reads.
It adds: “This situation severely impacts students’ ability to concentrate, undermines their academic performance, and hinders their physical development. The lack of proper nutrition during the school day is a major obstacle to these students’ educational success and well-being.”
Ms Museveni, who on Tuesday welcomed the recommendations of the report, noting that they will be a bedrock in informing policy formulation and improving the country’s education sector, in December said her ministry has already commissioned the national plan of digitising the school feeding information, as well as issued the feeding guidelines to all schools.
“This is a programme that is ongoing and we hope and pray that perhaps by 2026, the government may have found a way to provide feeding in schools, at least for primary schools, to start with,” she said.
The 2021 National Service Delivery Survey indicated that 16 percent of pupils in government primary schools went without lunch, 18 percent went back home to eat while half of the learners, representing 49 percent of the number that was sampled, were provided with lunch at school at a fee contributed by the parents.
The National Planning Authority (NPA) estimated that 86 percent of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centres provide food, yet parents in many regions struggle to afford these costs, resulting in hunger that impairs learning.
The December 2024 National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) states that the number of primary school goers has risen to 8.9 million while that of their ECCE counterparts is 1.7 million.
Col (Rtd) Mushega in their report says some parents in different parts of the country are willing to contribute to the education of their children through school feeding, while others are not, even when they can do so.
“For example, while in Kapchorwa, one of the consulted stakeholders mentioned; “although there is plenty of food at home, there is plenty of hunger in schools”.”
The ministry, they said, stated that hunger is one of the main reasons children perform poorly in UPE schools and the situation is not any different at the secondary school level.
Dr Jane Egau Okou, the Education ministry Under Secretary, when contacted for a comment said: “We received the report on Tuesday and have not yet read it…we shall first read and then give an appropriate comment.”
Mr Kirabira Hasadu, the chairperson of the Uganda National Association of Private Schools and Institutions, welcomed the move but cautioned that the government should ensure the quality of the products.
But the report recommended that feeding in schools should come with an advantage to farmers by providing a market for their agricultural produce through local agricultural procurement by sourcing food for schools from local farmers within the parish.
“This will provide a stable market for agricultural produce, increased production, and increased household income. This is aligned with the PDM pillar on production, storage, processing, and Marketing which focuses on enhancing agricultural value chains at the parish level. In light of the above,” he says.
