The Federal Government on Sunday said it had paid suppliers of foodstuff and cooks in 33 participating states under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme .

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs , Disaster Management and Social Development , Sadiya Farouq, said the payment, which was for January 2020 , would ensure that the feeding of the 9 . 9 million pupils in the 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory starts immediately schools resume in two weeks time .

She explaining that the payment covered the cost of feeding the school pupils in the participating states , adding that the funds were released in December to give the suppliers and cooks adequate time to procure and stock foodstuff .

Farouq said , “ We believe that paying these funds early is critical to the success of the programme . We do not want any hitches and we want to ensure that the school children are fed on time and without any excuses . ”

The minister warned that the Federal Government would not accept any drop in the nutritional quality of the meals given to the children .

She said the Federal Government had gladly received reports of improved attendance in the schools and improved hygiene among the pupils .

These outcomes , according to Farouq , were some of the reasons for setting up the school feeding programme .

She noted that under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme a total of 9 , 963 , 726 pupils were fed in 54 , 942 schools across the country and were served by 107 , 862 suppliers and cooks .

The programme is one of the components of the National Social Investment Programme of the Federal Government .
The NSIP , which was previously under the Presidency , was recently moved to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs , Disaster Management and Social Development .

Source:- Punchng.

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