School feeding prog boosts student attendance in primary levels to 97pc

The government’s school feeding programme has boosted student attendance to 95�"97 percent in many schools but inadequate food allocations, a limited menu of stale food and difficult delivery routes are undermining its wider impact. 

In many schools, food is allocated for only 90 percent of enrolled students, forcing teachers to divide portions when attendance is high, while bread is served four days a week. Teachers, parents and civil society representatives are calling for full coverage, greater menu variety and more reliable food delivery, particularly in remote and disaster-prone areas.

The information was gathered through visits to various government primary schools in different upazilas of Jessore, Narail, Khulna and Satkhira and through discussions with teachers, parents and other people involved in the programme.

Inadequate, irregular, stale food supply undermine the prog

In the three upazilas of Jessore, Jhikargachha, Abhaynagar and Keshabpur, 406 schools are covered with 59,091 students receiving food five days a week. The menu includes boiled eggs, bread, biscuits, bananas and milk.

Teachers say attendance in many schools is now around 95�"97 percent. At Majidpur Government Primary School in Keshabpur, headteacher Sudeb Kumar Debnath said attendance had increased in every class since the programme began.

“Children who had poor nutrition are now getting food at school, and they are more attentive in class,” he said. He added that some students no longer need to bring lunch from home.

But the shortage of food remains a problem. As food is not allocated for all enrolled students, teachers sometimes have to divide portions among more children when attendance is high. They want supplies to match the number of students present and a more varied menu.

Parents have also noticed changes. Nasima Begum, a parent and a member of a school food committee in Abhaynagar, said children were less likely to buy unhealthy snacks from shops around schools during tiffin time.
 
The same trend has been reported in Narail. In Kalia upazila, 156 government primary schools with 18,758 students are covered by the programme. Teachers, parents and local representatives there said the programme had increased attendance and reduced children’s interest in unhealthy food sold near schools.

At Arazi Bashgram Government Primary School, UP chairman Melzar Hossain Bhuiyan described the programme as useful and called for its continuation and expansion to every upazila.

In coastal Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira, the programme faces a different challenge. The area has poor roads, rivers and canals and it is difficult to reach some schools during the rainy season. Food sometimes has to be transported by both pickup vehicles and boats.

The upazila has 191 primary schools with 25,815 students under the programme, the highest coverage among the six upazilas in Satkhira.

In Gabura and Padmapukur unions alone, food has to be delivered to 30 schools through difficult road and river routes.

At Atulia Adarsha Government Primary School, headteacher Dinesh Chandra Mondal said attendance had increased and more parents were interested in sending their children to school since the programme started. 

The programme is being implemented in six upazilas across four districts by NGO Sushilan. Its deputy director Shahina Pervin said that reaching schools in Shyamnagar was particularly difficult because of weak road links and waterways. During bad weather, transport costs rise and there is also a risk of food being damaged on the way.

“Even with these problems, we are trying to deliver food to students regularly,” she said. Sushilan has also asked the government to provide food for 100 per cent of students.

Officials say the programme is still a pilot project and problems found during implementation can help improve it before wider expansion. Keshabpur Upazila Primary Education Officer Md Nazrul Islam said that three organisations supply different items: Sushilan provides bananas, bread and eggs, Akij supplies milk and PRAN supplies biscuits.

For the programme to have a wider impact, teachers, parents and civil society representatives say two issues now need attention: ensuring enough food for every student and introducing more variety in the weekly menu. They believe full coverage would make the programme more useful for children, particularly those from poor and disaster-prone families.