• The programme seeks to provide pupils with adequate meals during school days so that they can learn.
• Jane Wanjiru, an ECDE teacher from Ndeiya, said the initiative will be of great benefit to the learners.
Kiambu county has launched an early childhood education school feeding programme to keep learners in class.
Speaking at the county headquarters during the launch of the programme on Monday, Governor Kimani Wamatangi said children will get eggs and porridge on a daily basis.
The programme seeks to provide pupils with adequate meals during school days so that they can learn.
Jane Wanjiru, an ECDE teacher from Ndeiya, said the initiative will be of great benefit to the learners.
"Some students come to class without having eaten anything, which means they can't concentrate in class," Wanjiru said.
While thanking, the county for the initiative, she also asked for an increase of their salary as "it is not enough to cater for their needs".
“I think as teachers, we are an important part of a child’s development and we take the responsibility seriously. I, therefore, urge the county government of Kiambu to increase ECDE teacher’s salary as it is too little,” she said.
Early childhood education serves a critical purpose in preparing young children for Primary education.
A study by CARE International in Kajiado in November 2022 found that the severe and worsening drought in Kenya was pushing learners to drop out of school to support their parents in the search for food, pasture, and water, particularly in pastoralist communities.
At the time, more than 200 pupils at Nyacaba Primary School in Juja were reported to have dropped out as a result of hunger.
And in Machakos, Kenya National Union of Teachers officials said 30 per cent of children were no longer attending school because of hunger.
Governor Wamatangi thanked ECDE teachers for their effort and urged them to continue supporting the children in their early education.
“ECDE teachers are an important part in our children’s’ daily lives as they shape their future. They teach the learners crucial first information early such as the basics of reading and writing among other activities,” he said.
Wamatangi added that the school feeding Programme fund has already been set aside before its commencement on April 1, 2023.
He added that 24 classes will be renovated and 40 new classes will be built.
The ECDE centres will be divided into two sections (PP1 and PP2), with the teachers’ office in the middle of the structure. They will also have a children’s play section.