Efio-Ita Nyok|29 March 2018
It has been garnered that the Federal Government sponsored Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Cross River state has inspired an uncanny sense of service amongst commercial vendors beyond the usual zest for profit making as a sound business acumen suggest NegroidHaven can say. Beyond that, the interest for learning amongst Nigerian pupils in primary schools across Cross River has improved impressively. Particularly, the quality of attendance in school has spiked while kids are psychologically and physically fit for learning.
Our correspondent learnt, Wednesday, when he embarked on a fact finding tour of designated schools in Calabar metropolis. One Miss Queensley Offiong Bassey, a vendor at Ironbar Memorial Primary School located at 10 Atu Street, Calabar South revealed that, the activities of vendors in the HGSFP has graduated from the usual profit making inclination to service rendering. Bassey further noted that the programme has introduced focus to kids bringing them in sync with the educational system they find themselves. She also said that vendors have been compelled to have to inter-phase between parents/guardians and the kids for the overall benefit of the pupils.
According to her, 'When the child says,'even though my parent or guardian doesn't give me food, when I get to school there is food waiting for me', that gives that child focus, the child now begins to flow with the school system, the school system in turn flows with the child, so, it's ease for the child to learn.
'I am really into children, I interphase a lot with most parents. I cannot begin to mention to how many parents I have followed kids from school back home with. For instance, there is a child from primary three. She came with a broken eye, I queried and discovered that it was the half dad who beat her, I followed her to the parents and learnt that the excuse was that he's drunk. I quarreled with that and threatened to refer him to child welfare. There's remorse and I extracted commitment on his part not to continue in such negative trend. In essence, we've gone beyond business to service'.
On her part, the head teacher of the primary school, Mrs Ekom Egbai Egwu Udom, appreciated God and the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for introducing the social programme. She said that the daily attendance in classrooms by pupils has increased, she also noted that enrollment into the school has also increased. Her words, 'I really thank God for this feeding programme, I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for introducing this type of programme for primary schools. It's for this reason that daily attendance in the classroom has changed. Enrollment into the school has increased. Besides, there's no health problem, no complain…'
At Special Education Centre Secondary School No. 78 Ibom Layout, the head teacher of the primary section Mrs Cecilia Okon Umo observed that the students were so happy as a result of the programme. She said that the attendance has improved tremendously. Umo informed that the initial figure she presented to the authorities as to the number of students attending has greatly increased beyond that. In her exact words, 'the number is increasing against the number I gave to the government. They have increased to more than 70 children as against fifty something… So, it has improved the attendance in the school'.
The Primary objectives of the Programme is to reduce the 15 million out-of-school Nigerian children to zero, increase nutritional nourish of school children between 1 to 3 of age, to increase school enrollment and increase agricultural value chain thereby improving the economies of the local community.
While addressing the press recently, Mr Okulaja, the Cross River state Help Desk officer in charge said the figures of the school children affected and the vendors engaged has increased to 168,069 pupils and 1963 vendors for this second term from last year's first term figures of 117,775 kids and 1358 vendors as at December 2017.
Besides Ironbar Memorial Primary School, our correspondent visited Akim PCN Primary School, Special Education Centre Secondary School No. 78 Ibom Layout off old Ikang road, Big Qua and Henshaw Town Primary School, Henshaw Town, Calabar.
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is the Blogger-in-Chief, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NegroidHaven
