From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
A total of 168,450 pupils from 2,408 public primary schools in the 33 local government areas of Oyo State are expected to benefit from the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme initiated by the Federal Government.
The state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, disclosed this during a launch of the programme at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, on Friday.
The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) with N980billion investment, is part of the social intervention scheme of the Federal Government aimed at aiding the provision of basic education through feeding.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, described the programme as a welcome development, “especially during this period of recession when three square meals have become increasingly rare in the homes of our people.
“The main goal of this programme is to attract out-of-school children to schools and keep them in class for the acquisition of basic education, while improving on the quality of their nutritional status.”
Ajimobi stated that a total of 2,578 food vendors have been certified medically fit, trained and employed to cater for the pupils.