We need an inclusive feeding programme

In 2 Peter verses 5-7, we are reminded to; add, double and multiply our blessings. The reminder is specific to Christians and generally to every reader of the Holy Book.

The reminder is not only a Biblical call to mankind for spiritual nourishment but for application to varied contexts. Kindness and love added towards our brothers and sisters in Christ are the true meaning of life. Thus making life meaningful to Ugandan learners must manifest in policy programming that is inclusive, contextualized, and informed by the love and kindness we have for them.

Inequality and exclusion cannot be the cornerstone of policy formulation. Providing milk to a few children in Greater Kampala Metropolitan at a cost is good but not good enough. Those in the business of selling milk to a few need to know that Uganda’s school enrolment is not exclusive to Kampala, Mukono, and Wakiso learners but rather made up of learners in all schools.

Providing milk for a few is far from a good policy as it widens the already existing gap between the “haves and have nots”. Since education is philosophically purposed to be an equalizer, any policy direction to the contrary should be rescinded.

Both milk and porridge offer a foundation for healthy eating habits and nutritional knowledge that children can apply throughout life. It is important that nutritional life skills are imparted to learners without leaving others behind.

With physical benefits of proper nutrition such as energy to live life to the fullest, boosting immunity as well as protecting them against malnourishment, maintaining their immune system, preventing lifestyle diseases like obesity, and reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases, it is common sense that all learners are prioritised.

Ugandan learners cannot be ostracized at a time when we are counting only eight years to the conclusion of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Providing milk for the privileged few contradicts the SDG cardinal principle of “leaving no one behind”. If it is true that milk will be provided at a cost borne by parents, it cannot be made policy for it harbors the ugly hands of exclusion, inequality and marginalisation.

The government ought to have widely consulted parents as key stakeholders before pronouncing itself on milk for a few. Promoters of the milk for a few should be alive to the 2019 Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit report which has it that 66 percent of the learners stay hungry in school and only 34 have a meal. This state of affairs translates into poor learning outcomes which cannot be overturned through selective policy interventions of milk for a few but rather through holistic approaches.

Since scientifically every learner in school deserves a balanced diet to help them grow and develop their cognitive, psychomotor, and affective faculties, it is prudent that those at the policy desk think twice before they pronounce themselves without contradiction.

Learners’ comprehensive nutritional planning that entails the provision of; whole grains which is neither provided by homes nor schools. Learners need a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to help their bodies with vital vitamins which schools find very expensive and unrealistic to include on school menus. They need calcium for growing their bones to help them become active sports personalities. Since a few private international schools provide such food items to a few learners, it is important for the government to benchmark but not copy and paste.

Government should instead roll out a programme that offers a cup of porridge for all learners without discrimination. The provision of a cup of porridge should be aligned to existing programmes .

If well implemented, the cup of porridge for all learners is the magic bullet for realisation of acceptable learning outcomes.

The writer is the Technical Advisor – Education Advocacy Network. [email protected]