by Gideon Madzikatidze/Simbarashe Sithole
The Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme has appealed to government for consideration on embracing and enrolling several schools countrywide to adopt massive feeding schemes as part of nutrition education which eliminate school dropout amongst learners, a pilot survey has shown.
Speaking during a Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme on lessons learnt workshop for the schools nutrition programme which is coming to an end on the 30th of June 2024, nutritionist, Fungai Kutyauripo described described the pilot survey as a successful exercise which needs full adoption and implementation by all stakeholders.
“Results of the pilot survey have shown that the exercise is quite noble as it yields positive results and we appeal for it to be enrolled nationwide,” Kutyauripo said.
“This should be rolled out to several schools countrywide to ensure its adoption and implementation will therefore ensure there is decreased school dropouts thereby improving education systems of our time,” Kutyauripo added.
“As an organisation (SIRP), we focused on thirty schools from selected provinces which we put under the research study. Several lessons have therefore been learnt that enrollment and school attendance improves where nutrition education through feeding schemes are implemented successfully,” Kutyauripo said.
There were reports that some schools especially in rural areas have experienced a spike in school dropouts resulting from hunger and starvation which therefore requires authorities to improve yields from school gardens thereby ensure all learners do not suffer from malnourishment.