Nairobi Public and Primary Schools to Get Free Meals For Learners
Under the school feeding program, Nairobi County and the Ministry of Education will provide free meals to students in public and primary institutions.
Thursday’s announcement followed a consultation between Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, and Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie.
Machogu stated that the program will increase the motivation of pupils, especially those from slums and informal settlements in Nairobi.
Principal Secretary of Basic Education Belio Kipsang and Principal Secretary of Higher Education and Research Beatrice Inyangala were also present at the meeting.
On Wednesday, while appearing before the National Assembly, Machogu stated that Junior Secondary School students are not required to pay lunch fees.
According to Implementation of Junior Secondary School guidelines, he clarified that parents are responsible for providing sustenance for their children.
“Guideline 8.6 (i) states that “Provision of school meals in JSS shall be the responsibility of the parents/guardians” while (iii) states that “The JSS leadership shall ensure that no learner drops out of school as a result of failure to pay the lunch programme fees,” Machogu said.
The CS noted that the two clauses did not contradict each other, stating in clause (i) that parents had the option of either paying for lunch at school or bringing their own meal.
Typically, the Board of Management convenes a meeting of the parents of that particular school, and after discussing and agreeing on an amount that each parent is responsible for contributing to the provision of lunch for their children, they pay that amount.
“It is not mandatory, it is optional. There are parents who say yes, I’m not going to pay, I will be able to provide such that my child can carry food from home to school.”
He added that the Ministry was striving to ensure that all students who lacked lunch were fed at school.
Nairobi Public and Primary Schools to Get Free Meals For Learners
