The federal government has announced plans to relaunch the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, an initiative aimed at providing meals to students to boost school attendance and improve educational outcomes.
Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, made this announcement during a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Alternative Education on Thursday, August 22. The discussion focused on tackling the longstanding issue of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
In a statement released by Mohammed Manga, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Finance, Edun emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring every Nigerian child has access to quality education. “The federal government is dedicated to tackling critical issues through innovative initiatives like the ‘Home-Grown School Feeding Programme’ and the ‘Secretariat for Financing Safe Schools’,” Edun said.
The relaunch of the programme is expected to not only improve students’ health and well-being but also encourage them to stay in school, thereby reducing the number of out-of-school children across the country. “Feeding children at school would positively impact the national budget by providing sufficient resources to support and sustain educational programs,” Edun added.
This development follows the suspension of the programme by President Bola Tinubu in January, as part of a broader investigation into alleged financial irregularities within the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). The suspension also affected other key social investment initiatives, such as N-Power and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes.
Despite the suspension, there has been significant pressure from the House of Representatives, which argued that discontinuing these programmes could severely harm the education sector. The Green Chamber has been actively campaigning for the government to resume the suspended initiatives, stressing their importance in supporting Nigeria’s educational infrastructure.
Edun’s announcement marks a renewed commitment by the federal government to enhance educational opportunities and support future generations, paving the way for a more prosperous Nigeria.
