By JOHN ONAH, Abuja –
The Nigeria government has proposed to spend N139.4 billion (approximately N140 bn) of the 2021 budget on its school feeding programme against N70.05 budgeted for Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
The latest revelation shows that the proposed budget for school feeding is more than four agencies such as N70.05 billion for UBEC with N70.05, Public Complaints Commission – N5.20 billion; Human Rights Commission – N3.00 billion; and Basic Health Care Provision Fund – N35.03 billion put together.
School Feeding Progamme is component of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) domiciled within the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
With the above proposed budget, it is assumed that priority is given by this administration to school feeding programme than the education of the pupils who are the purported beneficiaries of the programme.
Critics of the programme are of questioning the rationale behind ceding it to a ministry other than the Ministry of Education who supervise UBEC as an agency responsible for regulating basic education in the country.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development directly handles what is officially tagged as the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP} and also provides what its calls subsidy for public schools across the country.
NATIONAL ACCORD learnt that, NHGSFP is proposed to cost N2. 6 billion while the government budgeted N139.3 billion for the meal subsidy.
While government records before COVID-19 show that school feeding is currently active in 23 states across the country and FCT, the ministry put the number of beneficiaries of the programme at over 9.9 million pupils as at January 2020.
According to the ministry, while the COVID-19 pademic that led to the closure of schools across the country, it was still feeding the pupils while at home.
The ministry further revealed that N523.3 Million was spent on feeding programme during the period.
When schools were open in the past years of its operations, it has been said to be active in 54,942 schools across the country and are served by 107,862 suppliers and cooks.
The suspicion of the critics of the programme came to bear with the recent proposed probe by Independent Corrupt Practices and Related offences Commission (ICPC) of some N2.67 billion found in some privates accounts.
According to findings, these funds were originally meant for those engaged in the programme.
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