Schools told to build huge storage facilities

THE government has instructed all schools in the country to construct huge storage facilities and prepare feeding points ahead of the roll out of a $200 million national schools feeding scheme next term.

There are 3,140,400 pupils in primary and 1,026,980 in secondary schools country wide and the government is targeting to feed 1,300,000 infants.

The number of secondary school pupils needing food could not be made available yesterday.

Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Professor Paul Mavhima said the feeding scheme would begin when schools open next month.

He said the government was targeting pupils in primary and secondary schools in 26 districts, while in other districts focus would be on Early Childhood Development (ECD), Grade One and Two pupils.

"For emergency relief, we'll target all learners from the 26 districts most affected by the drought," Prof Mavhima said.

"This will feed all learners from infant to secondary. For the national roll out, we'll start with infants in May and then do a phased roll-out until all learners are covered. All schools have been instructed to prepare storage facilities and feeding points before the national launch and in preparation for the national roll out of the programme."

He said a taskforce had been set up to identify the most drought prone areas and look for the required resources.

The government's intervention comes in the wake of serious food shortages in most parts of the country, with at least three million people said to be in urgent need of food aid.

Cabinet, a fortnight ago, approved a $200 million national schools feeding scheme to feed school children to ensure food security following an El-Nino-induced drought.

Asked whether the government would be able to meet demand, Prof Mavhima said: "But can government afford to feed the nation? If it can, then it can afford to feed the kids. Our donors will also bring foods like porridge and mahewu".

He said development partners such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agricultural Organisation would share responsibilities to raise more resources.

Schoolchildren, according to the government, would receive isitshwala, beans or vegetables for lunch sourced locally, while porridge would be served for breakfast.

Prof Mavhima said provinces such as Masvingo, the Midlands and the Matabeleland region were hard hit by drought, with reports that pupils at some schools had since stopped going to school while others were fainting in class.

The worst affected areas include Binga, Tsholotsho, Nkayi, and Lupane and by October 2015, around 3,000 pupils had dropped out of school in Matabeleland North province due to hunger.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Tapiwa Matangaidze said the schools feeding programme would commence soon with his Ministry assuring that no one would starve.

"That programme is going on, government policy says no one is allowed to go hungry because currently there's concentrated efforts to ensure that we avail enough grain to meet the required demand," he said.

The latest Vulnerability Assessment Committee Rapid Assessment Report states that the number of food insecure people has reached three million and President Robert Mugabe has declared the 2015/2016 farming season a disaster.