By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, January 24, Mana: Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima says government has planned to roll out the Primary School Feeding Programme in all schools by 2030 to further improve positive education indicators.

Wirima made the remarks at Chithiba Primary School in Kasungu on Tuesday when a delegation from Mary’s Meals International visited the school to appreciate the progress of the feeding programme.

She said: “School feeding is one of the priority programmes for contributing to attainment of educational outcomes, as well as improving health and nutrition status of our learners as indicated in the National Education Sector Plan.

“The Ministry of Education has placed the school meals programme as one of its priorities, as reflected through the five strands for foundational learning, which commit to increase school feeding coverage from 35 percent of all public primary schools, to 100 percent by 2030.”

Wirima said while the country continues to achieve good results in terms of learner enrolment, it still faces challenges in terms of other access indicators, such as learner attendance and dropout.

“However, in primary schools where school feeding programme is present, we have observed not only increased attendance of learners to classes but also reduced school dropout rates,” she said.

Chief Programmes Officer for Mary’s Meals International, Graeme Little, said it was exciting that the initiative which started with 200 pupils in Blantyre in 2002, has grown to feeding over a million pupils in Malawi alone.

He said: “Everything we have seen here is exciting. The programme is strong, and the community is supporting it. The sad reality is that we still have a gap in that we still have many pupils who go to schools that do not have the feeding programme.

“The other challenge recently has been the rising of food costs. However, we remain committed telling the story of what we have seen here which will also help us to raise resources. Our priority is to keep the promise to the children.”

In his remarks, Senior Chief Kaomba thanked Mary's Meals International for the meals programme, saying the initiative has helped to keep pupils in school.

With support from Mary’s Meals International, government is implementing the school feeding programme in at least 931 primary schools in 24 districts using a model that promotes procurement of locally produced corn and soy blend.