A couple of years ago I wrote an article explaining what I felt was a real
\nrisk to Nigeria\u2019s national interest due to the growing trend of 10.5
\nmillion school age children being out of school.[1]\u00a0 The article concluded
\nthat the country was sitting on a \u201cticking time bomb\u201d that could explode
\nwith catastrophic consequences for all Nigerians, if this trend was not
\naddressed quickly.\u00a0 I suggested some options to mitigate this risk,
\nincluding the introduction of a national primary school meal program.<\/p>\n
Since the publication of the article, and during the run-up to the recent
\nNigerian general election, the All Progressives Congress party (\u201cAPC\u201d)
\nmade a pledge in their manifesto to introduce free daily school meals for
\nall primary school children. [2]\u00a0 This was a timely and needed pledge.
\nNow that the APC has been given the national mandate, the newly-elected
\ngovernment should proceed to deliver on this promise and put in place the
\nlegal and administrative framework to effectively implement a school meal
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
The policy and its benefits:
\nA good start would be to adopt Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights
\nof the Child[3] and legislate for the provision of “adequate nutritious
\nfoods” for all children in state funded primary schools.\u00a0 I suggest this
\nis made a constitutional provision.\u00a0 Setting the policy within a
\nconstitutional legal framework will strengthen its delivery across the
\nentire nation.[4]\u00a0 It is also suggested the government sets up a joint
\ncross-departmental task force comprising officials from the Ministries of
\nAgriculture, Education, Health, and Finance to implement this policy and
\nmonitor food quality and compliance.<\/p>\n
Implementing this policy can benefit several sectors in Nigeria.\u00a0 For
\nexample, it could benefit the health sector by improving child nutrition
\nand reducing the chance of our children falling ill.\u00a0 The education sector
\ncould benefit by (a) Increasing school enrolment rates; (b) Improving
\nattendance at school; (c) Increasing concentration in class, and arguably,
\nimproving children\u2019s learning outcomes.\u00a0 As a result, learning and
\nteaching will become easier and more rewarding.\u00a0 Also, our local economic
\nactivities across the nation may expand due new local jobs created (as a
\ndirect result of this national policy) in the agricultural, construction,
\ntransport and catering sectors.<\/p>\n
Critics of the school meal policy may argue about the huge implementation
\ncosts.\u00a0 They have a good point.\u00a0 After all, it is an ambitious project
\nthat will require a huge financial commitment from the government.\u00a0 New
\ncooking facilities in the numerous schools will need to be built, and
\ncooking and eating utensils purchased in large numbers across the entire
\nnation.\u00a0 Also, there are operational costs such as providing a regular
\nsupply of water, food ingredients and fuel to cook these meals.\u00a0 In
\naddition, the salaries of catering staff and farmers, the costs of
\ntransportation of food materials, and costs of monitoring food quality
\nwill also need to be covered.<\/p>\n
However, if implemented properly, this is an investment in our nation\u2019s
\nfuture, which in the long run will yield dividends for all Nigerians,
\ndirectly or indirectly.\u00a0 Nigeria\u2019s children are the country\u2019s most
\nimportant asset.\u00a0 And providing primary school healthy meals for all
\nchildren will go a long way to protect and sustain this asset.\u00a0 After all,
\nof what good is the natural economic resources our country has if our
\nemerging labour force is not healthy and sufficiently educated to exploit
\nits benefits for the country\u2019s development?\u00a0 Therefore, a national school
\nmeal policy should carry an equal or even higher weighting amongst the
\ncompeting demands on government expenditure.<\/p>\n
To help reduce costs, free school meals can be provided only to children
\nfrom the poorest families, whilst at a subsidized price to children from
\nnon-poor families.\u00a0 Clearly a system will need to be adopted that fairly
\nassess who qualifies for free meals and who receives it at a subsidized
\nrate.\u00a0 But this administrative hurdle is not insurmountable if there is
\npolitical will and the legal framework is in place.\u00a0 Also, international
\norganisations exist who can provide technical assistance for sustainable
\nand effective implementation of this programme.[5]\u00a0 Furthermore, there are
\nbest practices and models in other countries that our policy makers can
\nunderstudy to develop this programme and learn how costs were managed.<\/p>\n
When I was in primary school in the 1970s in England, hot school meals
\nwere provided daily for every school child.[6]\u00a0 I have fond memories of
\nthose meals and I\u2019m sure they helped me concentrate better in class and
\nparticipate actively in school activities including sports.\u00a0 School lunch
\nwas an integral part of the school day.\u00a0 When we sat down to eat with
\nfellow children and teachers it cemented relationships and helped us
\ndevelop social skills.\u00a0 The UK Government still has this policy.<\/p>\n
Millions of school children in Asia, Europe and the Americas also enjoy
\nschool meals where their governments promote these policies.\u00a0 Even
\ncountries with bigger populations than Nigeria implement school meal
\npolicies.\u00a0 For example, India\u2019s Midday Meal Scheme provides free lunches
\nto 120 million Indian children every school day.[7]\u00a0 The USA provides
\nlow-cost or free lunches to more than 31 million U.S. children each school
\nday.[8]\u00a0 In 2013 Brazil provided school meals for 45 million students
\nevery school day and has been running this program for over 50 years.[9]
\nEncouragingly, three states in Nigeria, Osun, Enugu and Anambra, have
\nintroduced school meals in their public primary schools.[10]\u00a0 The
\nchallenge is to extend this policy nationwide.<\/p>\n
Every year I travel to my village in Delta State to volunteer teaching and
\ndistribute essential educational materials to poor primary school
\nchildren.\u00a0 There is no doubt in my mind that the children are keen to
\nlearn.\u00a0 They enjoy reading the story books and colourful educational
\nposters I bring from London.\u00a0 Some of the children walk for miles in all
\nweather conditions, just to get to school.\u00a0 But their learning environment
\nis nowhere near conducive.\u00a0 The school I visit does not provide school
\nmeals, and does not even have pipe-born running water or electricity.\u00a0 The
\ndifficulties of learning when one is hungry and tired are well known.
\nYet, these children are expected to concentrate and learn at school.
\nTheir experience is similar to millions of other children in Nigeria.\u00a0 The
\nmajority of Nigerian school children are missing out on a healthy start in
\nlife simply because of where they were born.\u00a0 It is not their fault, and
\nit is not fair.\u00a0 Every Nigerian child deserves the same healthy start as
\nchildren born in Asia, the Americas and Europe.\u00a0 After all, no one chooses
\nwhere they are born.<\/p>\n
To maximise the benefits of providing healthy meals in our primary
\nschools, government at all levels (federal, state and local), should
\ncombine this policy with:
\n(a) Continuous investment in teacher competence;
\n(b) Adequate provision of books and learning materials,
\n(c) Involvement of the voluntary sector;
\n(d) Free annual medical health checks for every school child, and
\n(e) Maintaining and upgrading learning education facilities.
\nCollectively, these can form the foundation of a Nigerian \u201cNew Deal\u201d
\neducation policy.<\/p>\n
Conclusion:
\nIf we take a long-term view and implement a national school meal policy
\nproperly, I believe the standard of education both offered and received
\nwill gradually improve.\u00a0 Every Nigerian child would have a healthy start
\nin life and a fairer opportunity to fulfil their potential for themselves,
\ntheir families, and the nation.\u00a0 Also, the positive domino effect on our
\nlocal economies as a result of the investment in this policy would lead to
\nfurther economic growth in our local communities.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, as a consequence of this policy, in the near future a Nigerian
\nhealthy, educated work force will emerge which is better equipped to
\nsustain our long term economic development.\u00a0 When this happens, I am
\nconfident we will eventually defuse the ticking time bomb that is
\ncurrently threatening Nigeria\u2019s national interest.<\/p>\n