• Wangamati said the food has greatly helped retention of learners since most parents have migrated to neighbouring Uganda in search of water and pasture.
• “Before introduction of this programme during this period, most schools had fewer pupils since they migrate with their parents due to lack of food,” he said.
School feeding programmes have helped retain learners and reduce absenteeism in West Pokot county.
School enrolment has increased in the county since the introduction of feeding programme in all public primary schools in the region since 2018.
Programmes have been suspended or discontinued in some other counties.
Speaking to press in Kapenguria, North Pokot, education officer Edward Wangamati said this year they have already begun distribution of food and each school will get food based on its population.
Wangamati said the food has greatly helped retention in schools since during this drought period most parents have migrated to neighbouring Uganda in search of water and pasture.
“Before the introduction of this programme, during this period most schools had fewer pupils since they migrate with their parents due to lack of food,” he said.
In 2017, before the introduction of the school feeding programme, the county had 186,708 pupils in school but it currently has more than 196,673 pupils, Pokot South education director Charles Kitur said.
He said the programme provided a healthy diet to children whose families struggle to get a meal and help prevent school going children from dropping out and doing odd jobs to earn money for a meal.
“The programme has attracted more children who were denied the right to attend school in order for them to take care of their young siblings as their parents went out to put food on the table for the family,” Kitur said.
He said they have received rice and beans worth millions of shillings from the government of Kenya and the World Food Programme. He said they were expecting more food and cooking oil for all public primary schools countrywide in this year's academic calendar.
West Pokot director of education Fred Kiiru said the feeding programme has enhanced the efficiency of the education system by improving enrolment, attendance, reducing dropouts and boosting school completion rates.
The feeding programme is a social development initiative by the Government of Kenya with the World Food Programme. It began in 1980 as a way to achieve millennium goals on quality education and zero hunger.
The county government has also supplied fortified porridge flour to Early Childhood Development pupils in the region.
The porridge also helps reduce malnutrition, which is high in the county.
West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo sad the county decided to supply ECDE centres with flour for porridge so the youngest children would not be left out.
He said malnutrition were high in the county and the porridge flour contains 21 minerals aimed to fight malnutrition.
“My government is committed to ensure malnutrition drastically drops in this county," the governor said.
(Edited by V. Graham)