Govt initiates new effort to support empty stomachs in schools

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Millions of Ugandan children spend hours at school on empty stomachs each day, hindering their ability to learn and grow. In a bid to address this longstanding crisis, the government has launched a new initiative to establish a nationwide school feeding program.

Eric Kakoole, the Assistant Commissioner for Policy in the Education Ministry, said that the new intuitive is expected to be rolled out next year with the national multisectoral working group to guide already put in place.

“The multi-sectoral group will guide how to have and implement a sustainable national school feeding program. According to our timelines, we anticipate that a budget line for the national school feeding program will be included in the next financial year 2025/2026,” Kakoole said.

Kakoole added that the education ministry has already drafted the school feeding policy and soon it will be scrutinized by different stakeholders before passing it next year as a guiding tool for providing meals to learners in schools across the country.

Dr. Jane Egau, the Under Secretary in the Education Ministry, also acknowledged that while there have been ongoing efforts to address the issue over the years, no effective solution has yet been found. She noted that several schools have implemented their initiatives, some of which are unsustainable or exclude certain students.

“School feeding is a critical issue that requires the attention of all stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and the government. The importance of school feeding cannot be overstated. Proper nutrition is fundamental to children’s physical and cognitive development and is essential for improving educational outcomes,” Dr. Egau emphasized.

Despite the fresh efforts to address the challenge, there are concerns that they might end up being unfulfilled promises. For example, some worry that although the government has established a working group to oversee the development of the feeding program, there is no allocated budget to support it.  Fredrick Kizito, Senior Policy Advisor at SNV Uganda, warned that without a dedicated budget, the committee could become ineffective. He recalled a similar committee formed in 2017 that failed due to lack of funding, leaving its outcomes in doubt.

Kakoole, however, assured that development partners such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF have already committed initial funding to support the working group in developing the national school feeding program.

Additionally, our reporter learned that the government is relying on its recent membership in the School Meals Coalition, a part of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, which aims to ensure every child receives a healthy, nutritious daily meal at school.

Available information suggests that these new initiatives are intended to fulfill commitments made to this Coalition, which is expected to provide further funding for the national school feeding program.

Meanwhile, Kakoole added that the ministry is going to conduct a nationwide survey with support from WFP to gather comprehensive data on existing school feeding initiatives and understand the current landscape across the country.

“There are various school feeding programs currently funded by parents, schools, and development partners,” he said. “We need to consolidate this information to understand what is already going on, understand how it is sustained before we come up with a unified national feeding program.”

Working Group composition criticized 

Meanwhile, the National School Feeding Program Working Group has faced some criticism for its composition, which critics argue is heavily skewed towards technocrats and lacks direct representation from those most affected by the school feeding challenges.

The 22-member committee, tasked with developing and implementing a nationwide school feeding program to ensure every primary and secondary student receives a daily hot meal, is composed predominantly of development partners, commissioners and officials from various ministries, agencies, and departments.

During a meeting for the launch of the Working Group held in Kampala, some of the attendees contended that the composition overlooks crucial input from those directly experiencing the issues.

“How can we have a committee discussing school feeding without representation from learners, teachers, or even local government representatives? I see the list is filled with commissioners from all the ministries and development partners. You mean they understand the issue than learners themselves, or teachers?” one of the attendants noted

Martin Kitubi, one of the participants also emphasized the need for the committee to include voices from those directly impacted. he added that teachers and student leadership has established structures at both the school and national levels that should be included in the committee.

Several participants interviewed after the meeting expressed concern that many national committees are often populated by office and desk officers and foreigners, leading to the creation of documents and recommendations that are disconnected from the actual realities on the ground.

School Feeding in Uganda at Glance 

Alex Mutaawe, a pupil at Kyalusowe Primary School in Masaka, vividly illustrates the challenges faced by many students. To him, the school bell is a bittersweet signal, marking the start of learning but also the onset of a long, hungry day.

Relying on the meager 100 shillings his parents occasionally provide, Alex buys snacks during the break, only to be consumed by hunger by lunchtime. “I don’t eat lunch. I have to beg from friends, and the afternoon lessons are the hardest because I’m hungry.”

His story is a stark reflection of a crisis silently crippling Uganda’s education system. For decades, the rumbling of empty stomachs has been a constant soundtrack in Uganda’s classrooms. While the country has made strides in education, the issue of school feeding has remained a persistent challenge, with millions of children going hungry during school hours.

Francis Ssematimba, headteacher of St. Maria Goretti Mpugwe in Masaka, has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of hunger on both students and teachers.

Ssematimba says that although the solution might have been feasible, the main issue is that school feeding has become politicized, with many parents reluctant to contribute even a small amount for their children’s lunch. The headteacher adds that even those receiving school meals are poorly fed, as they typically get just one meal of posho and beans, which lacks adequate nutrition and is a significant problem.

“School feeding should be about more than just having something to eat; it should also consider the nutritional value of the food. The challenge is that we might not address the value of the food when many are still going hungry,” he added.

He also mentioned that Masaka Diocese recently introduced a program allowing children to have milk at school as one of their initiatives. However, he finds this approach unsustainable, given that not many can afford it.

“For example, if the milk costs 2,000 shillings, per liter this would amount to at least 180,000 shillings over a three-month term. Who will cover this cost when they can’t even manage to pay 40,000 shillings for lunch?” Ssematimba asked.

In the region, countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda have long implemented school feeding programs, with governments investing funds to ensure that students receive a hot meal while at school. A school feeding program was first introduced in Uganda following the 1979 war, initially covering all schools. Since then, regional-specific initiatives have emerged, with the longest-running program being in Karamoja, which faced severe challenges starting in 1983. This program has received support from both the government and the World Food Programme.

The Uganda Education Act of 2008 assigns the responsibility of feeding children at school to parents and guardians. The Parent/Guardian Led School Feeding Program encourages parents to voluntarily send food with their children to school.

However, according to the 2014 National Population and Housing Census, 66 percent of primary-level students did not receive school meals, with urban children (41%) more likely to receive meals compared to their rural counterparts (32%). The government has over the years endorsed and promoted home-packed meals as a school feeding strategy.

In 2018, a photo of Education Minister Janet Kataha Museveni holding a lunchbox went viral, as she urged parents to use such containers for their children’s meals. The minister, concerned about the issue, launched a nationwide campaign to raise awareness among parents about their role in providing nutritious meals for their children. However, her attempt was highly criticized.

A paper released by the Finance Ministry in May 2019 revealed that home-packed meals had limited success. Challenges included a lack of food and packing materials at the household level and a poor understanding of the connection between meals and learning outcomes.

Similarly, the 2020 comprehensive evaluation of the UPE Program by the National Planning Authority found that many parents had neglected their responsibility to feed their children, mistakenly believing it was the government’s role. The NPA attributed this to a longstanding lack of clarity on the issue and recommended a needs-based approach in areas where households genuinely struggle to provide school meals.

In the 2020-2026 NRM manifesto, President Museveni pledged that his government would ensure all children in public schools receive lunch. However, as of mid-term, no budget has been allocated for this initiative.

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