The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Jacob Anaba, has called for an immediate audit of school enrolment figures used to determine allocations under the National School Feeding Programme.
His call follows concerns raised by the National Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme, Hajia Fati Forgor, that some head teachers allegedly inflate pupil enrolment figures to secure higher allocations.
According to the concerns raised, such practices could result in schools with genuine needs receiving inadequate support.
Mr Anaba said the allegations must be thoroughly investigated to establish the extent of the alleged manipulation and identify those responsible.
He described the alleged inflation of enrolment figures as a serious abuse of responsibility that could deprive the state of resources and undermine the objectives of the School Feeding Programme.
“If you have been given a position to deliver something to our kids, a critical one at that, and you are inflating the figures, it means that you are cheating the system, the state, and we shouldn’t allow that to pass,” he said.
Mr Anaba said an audit would help verify the actual number of pupils in beneficiary schools and ensure that allocations are based on accurate enrolment data.
“We will call for an audit to show that we can find out those who are doing that and bring them to book,” he said in an interview with Citi FM.
Call for improved meal quality
The NAGRAT President also called for greater attention to the nutritional quality of meals provided under the School Feeding Programme.
He said meals served to pupils should contain sufficient nutrients to support their health, concentration and ability to learn.
“The food they give to our children in the school should be something that will nourish them, will give them the nourishment that they can be able to sustain in the classroom,” he said.
Mr Anaba stressed that the School Feeding Programme plays an important role in supporting pupils’ participation in school and should therefore be implemented transparently and effectively.
He said accurate enrolment data and adequate nutritional standards were essential to ensuring that resources under the programme reached the pupils for whom they were intended.
