‘Shortcomings’ in nutrition programme
Organisation cites barriers to food access and lack of communication to pupils
THE National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) has come under scrutiny following revelations that some pupils might not be receiving food because of barriers in collecting much needed meals.
The concerns emerged following the latest report presented by the Department of Basic Education on what was being done to ensure that pupils received the meals.
Section27 and Equal Education Law Centre, representing Equal Education (EE), took the department to court over the programme to ensure that all pupils were fed, even during the lockdown.
EE said while the report showed some progress and was more coherent than previous reports, it still highlighted serious shortcomings in the provision of meals.
The organisation said it was not aware of any instances where children were not being fed at all, but had received reports that food in some areas was not up to standard.
It said the latest reports filed by the Department of Basic Education in courts this month on the programme show an increase in the number of meals being made available to qualifying pupils in all provinces.
“However, the report says that there are barriers to pupils accessing these meals. This report still lacks crucial information and plans to address obstacles to the collection of food,” said EE in a statement.
It said figures in the report from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal (“where it had heard reports that pupils were not receiving food”) reflect the number of meals made available by the government, rather than the number of meals actually collected by pupils.
“The latest report claims that the main problem with the roll-out of the NSNP is that pupils are not collecting meals or food parcels because of the recent temporary closure of schools, fears around physical distancing and the lack of scholar transport.
The report does not, however, offer any plans to address these challenges.
“We believe that this unfairly puts the responsibility for the failure to implement the NSNP on pupils and families, rather than recognising that the safety measures taken by schools have not been communicated properly and that pupils do not all know when and how they can collect school meals,” it said.
In a letter to KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu, the organisation said the reporting on the school nutrition programme had serious deficiencies.
It said no details were given about a communication plan regarding the provision of meals for pupils and caregivers while pupils were at home.
“No detail is provided regarding transportation plans for pupils who do not live close to their respective schools. No contact details of school/ district/provincial officials are provided in cases of non-compliance or where caregivers can access more information,” it said.
“It is unacceptable that pupils and families may be unaware that they can fetch the school meals they are entitled to because of poor communication from education departments, or because they might not have transport to school.”
Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the department’s focus was on returning all pupils to school where they can have their meals.
“All pupils will be back in schools by the end of this month and the national school nutrition programme will run as normal again.
“The resumption of learning by all pupils is what we wanted to see happen, so we can continue with the established manner of serving the meals,” he said.