School feeding: Kaduna govt cautions vendors against low quality food

From Femi Oyelola kaduna with agency report

The Kaduna State Government has warned vendors supplying food to pupils under the Federal Government School Feeding Programme to desist from supplying low quality food or face prosecution.
The state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Malam Ja’afaru Sani, gave the warning when he visited some primary schools in Rigassa, Kaduna metropolis to inspect on-going construction projects.
Sani, who inspected the quality of food being supplied to the pupils at LEA Bilyaminu Street Primary School, expressed displeasure over the low nutritional value of the food.
He also complained of the quantity of the food, “which seems to be just a mouthful’’.
“How can you cook rice with no vegetables and nothing except palm oil and give it to our children. We cannot accept this.
“The Federal Government is paying you to supply quality nutritional food not shaft. This must change or we will be force to take action’’, he told one of the vendors.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that over 10,000 pupils of primary one to three in more than 300 primary schools in the state were being fed under the Federal Government Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
On the school constructions, the commissioner said that the projects were awarded to provide conducive learning environment and increased access to quality education in the state.
The projects included; one storey building of 30 classrooms with two offices, and 15 toilets at LEA Primary School Lokoja Road, Rigassa.
There was another one storey building of 30 classrooms, 15 toilets with an office at LEA Bilyaminu street also in Rigassa.
Others are one storey building of 20 classrooms, 12 toilets with an office at LEA Shawai, LEA Mashi Gwari and LEA Hayin Danmani respectively, all in Rigassa.
Sani expressed satisfaction with the speed and quality of the works and commended the contractors for keeping their promise to deliver the projects within the six months’ time frame and agreed specification.
“I am sure in no distant time the classes will be ready even before the six months period,’’ he said.
The contractor, Malam Abubakar Aliyu, assured the state Government that the projects, which included fencing and provision of solar powered boreholes, would be completed before the deadline.