El-Rufai Kicks Off Free School Meal Programme

Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, launched the ‘School Feeding Programme’ in public primary schools in the state.

The programme is aimed at providing free one meal per day to about 1.5 million pupils public schools in Kaduna State.

At the kick-off ceremony held at the Aliyu Makama Primary School, the governor expressed joy in seeing the initiative come alive.

He said, “I am moved by the responsibility to implement the school feeding programme for primary school pupils.

“It is an unprecedented undertaking in this state, but one that we solemnly pledged to do when we were campaigning.

“Today is a special day in the unfolding of the change agenda the APC was elected to implement. The programme is a direct intervention in the health of our children, situating our schools as places to promote education and nutrition.”

He added that, “It is a challenge in terms of its scale, cost and the logistics required to deliver the meals every day. But our children deserve this and more.

“It would save parents money, empower the women who have been selected as the vendors and expand the market for farm products.”