Feeding part of new curriculum: Dokora
ALL schools must implement the feeding scheme as it is part of the new curriculum that will be fully implemented next year, Primary and Secondary Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora has said.
Speaking during a joint monitoring visit to schools in Bulilima, Mangwe and Plumtree last week, Dr Dokora said the school feeding programme was for all schools.
“In May last year we launched the schools feeding programme for infant learners. School heads then received circulars which stated that they had to implement the programme in their schools. If a policy is rolled out we expect it to be implemented but some schools are not. The school feeding programme is part and parcel of the new curriculum. The new curriculum contains a lot of activities and as such children have to be prepared,” he said.
Dr Dokora said the school feeding programme for junior learners would be launched in May next year but schools could initiate the programme before that time. He said school heads had to engage parents to come up with strategies to mobilise resources for the programme. He warned schools against raising levies paid by parents in a bid to raise money for the programme.
“Schools should engage various stakeholders such as members of the business community to ensure that the school feeding programme is viable.
“The Government availed money for this programme as a temporary measure but that doesn’t mean that after this emergency measure the programme has to come to an end. As of now all ECD learners, Grade One and Two pupils must be fed,” said Dr Dokora.
He said schools that had problems in collecting school fees and levies had to engage parents before approaching the magistrate’s court and the administrative court. Dr Dokora said the ministry together with its partners was conducting a nationwide joint monitoring visit to schools. He said several teams had been deployed to various districts.
The team which was being led by Dr Dokora visited Dingumuzi, Alan Redfern, Izimnyama, Matole and Msasane Primary Schools.
Under the exercise, the ministry is monitoring the pupil enrolment versus staff establishment, policy adherence, learning environment, instructional practice, community involvement, school management and planning, school feeding and school health.
“We are conducting this monitoring exercise with other education partners such as Unicef and Unesco in order to gain a deeper understanding of current practices, successes and challenges among schools. The findings will inform programming as well as help our understanding on how interventions are helping at school level. We want to get an appreciation of the day to day running of schools,” he said.
He also spoke against violence which was being exerted on pupils by teachers. He said the Government will have to resort to crafting a statutory instrument if this cruelty persisted. School heads who spoke during the monitoring exercise pointed out that parents were not forthcoming in paying fees which was crippling operations.
Dr Dokora said according to Unesco standards, schools had to have a computer ratio of one computer to eight pupils. He said the toilet ratio was one latrine to 19 girls and one latrine to 25 boys.