The Kaduna State Government on Tuesday said the Free Feeding Programme has increased school enrollment by 60 per cent.
This, according to the government, costs the state over N1.2 billion monthly for the provision of food for primary school pupils in the state.
Since the introduction of the programme, which provides daily meals for about 1.5 million pupils across the state, the state government says the enrollment of children into primary and junior secondary schools has improved up to about 60 percent compared to the poor status in the past.
Speaking at official launching of the programme, Governor Nasir El-Rufai, explained that the programme is to ensure that no child is denied access to basic education no matter their background.
To ensure sustainability of the programme in the face of the dwindling economy in the country, the Governor said government had to cut cost in recurrent expenditure and blocked all leakages in revenue collection in order to save money.
He also stated that apart from removing the burden of feeding during school hours from parents, the programme has created no less than 17,000 jobs.
For most parents, the Free Feeding Programme has taken off the burden of providing meals for their children during school hours.
The programme was launched by the state governor on January 19, 2016.
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