Impact of School Feeding Programme on Academic Performance : A Case Study of Karima-Iria-Ini Zone, Nyeri South District.

Abstract

School feeding program as a social safety net has been popular in developing countries as an instrument for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. These programs are frequently targeted towards populations that are food insecure and reside in areas with high concentrations of families from low socioeconomic status, or towards schools that face poor attendance and enrolment of students. There are many studies that have evaluated the impact of school feeding. However, the evidence on the impact of these programs is not always conclusive. This study presents a conceptual framework of how the School Feeding Programme (SFP) programs work, how it impact children academic performance in Karima-Iria-ini Zone Nyeri South District, Kenya. The study will strive to help education managers to understand the problems and challenges that have, for a long time, kept a large number of children out of school and varying education performance despite the abolition of all levies in primary schools in 2003. It is envisaged that appropriate mitigation measures will be formulated to address the expansion of the School Feeding Programme (SFP) to other schools which are not in the programme for the benefit of the Kenyan child. The socio-economic setting of the population living in the rural areas was amplified to draw the attention of the policy makers in Kenya, to develop appropriate intervention measures that will be geared towards addressing the plight of these groups of people, who constitute a significant percentage living below the poverty level who earns less than a dollar a day. It will further be shown in study that real economic development for the country can only be realized when the challenges facing this population in the rural areas are addressed through education and other interventions. Over seventy five percentage of the population in the rural areas live in absolute poverty where to afford three square meals a day is a major challenge to the households. Information on the study will be gathered through questionnaires and observation schedules from the school head teachers, School Feeding programme teachers, parents and children enrolled in these schools. It is hoped that the information gathered will form the basis of future policy decision making in addressing the challenges of access in the rural areas schools.