School feeding programme targets 35 lakh kids in poverty-prone areas

The government plans to implement a school feeding programme on a large scale with specific objectives: increasing enrolment and attendance while reducing the number of dropouts at selected primary schools in poverty-prone areas.  

Under the new project, styled Government School Feeding Programme-Phase-1, around 35 lakh children at 18,000-19,000 government primary schools in 150 upazilas will be provided with food during school hours throughout the year.

At an estimated cost of Tk6,000 crore, the government wants to start the implementation of the programme this year, but it first wants to secure funding from development partners.

The preliminary proposal of the project – to be implemented by the Directorate of Primary Education between July 2023 and June 2026 - has been sent to the Planning Commission for in-principle approval, according to Noorjahan Khatun, additional secretary (Development, Additional Charge) at the primary and mass education ministry.

"After approval by the Planning Commission, it will be forwarded to development partners through the Economic Relations Division to secure funding," she told The Business Standard.

The additional secretary said discussions are already underway with the International Cooperation Agency and several other development partners.

"Hopefully, good news on funding will be available soon," she further said.

She also said the main project proposal has also been prepared with the support of the World Food Program. The target is to complete the approval process within the next three months. After that, the implementation of this programme will begin.

According to the preliminary proposal, two types of food distribution modalities will be implemented: a diversified food basket comprising fortified biscuits, buns, fruits (banana), eggs and ultra-high temperature milk will be provided to the students five days a week in the maximum targeted areas, while children in some selected upazilas will receive a nutritious cooked meal.

The cooked meals will be prepared with fortified rice, red lentils, soybean oil, vegetables and eggs once or twice a week. If the budget permits, the provision of cooked meals will be expanded gradually. The cooked meals will be prepared at a cluster kitchen or central kitchen and distributed to schools by vendors.

Earlier in September 2020, the primary and mass education ministry proposed a school feeding programme at a cost of Tk19,283 crore to provide around 1.48 crore children in 509 upazilas with khichuri and biscuits.

In June 2021, the National Economic Council Executive Committee (Ecnec) sent back the project, suggesting a proper feasibility study.

Accordingly, the Directorate of Primary Education carried out a feasibility study, which suggests that in cost estimates of different options, fortified biscuits are the cheapest option. Costs were estimated for an "average" upazila, assuming 132 schools per upazila, 208 students per school, and semi-decentralised procurement and supply chain systems, among others.

Based on these findings, the feeding cost per child per day was lowest for the biscuit only at Tk18.74 and highest for the cooked meal at Tk40.47.

"In addition, costing was done for options that include different food items on different days of the week. In such combinations, the costs come to between Tk33.30 and Tk38.20 if a cooked meal is not included, and Tk53.90 if a cooked meal is provided twice a week," according to the proposal.

Officials and stakeholders involved with the programme will be provided with essential training for rolling out the project, with technical support from the WFP, according to officials.

From 2011 to 2015, another school feeding project, funded by the European Commission, provided fortified biscuits to 315,000 children in 1,295 government primary schools in ten upazilas.

After the funding from the European Commission was phased out, the project was integrated into the school feeding project in poverty-prone areas in November 2015.

Along with biscuits, the government introduced cooked meals in October 2019 on alternate school days for children in 16 upazilas. The cooked meal was made of fortified rice, red lentils, soybean oil, and fresh vegetables from local farms, with eggs once a week to meet a wider range of nutrients through diversified foods. A single meal provided 536-587 kcal as well as almost 50% of the daily micronutrient requirement of schoolchildren.

The programme was extended up to March 2020, when schools were forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The school feeding programme, until its phase out in June 2022, covered 30 lakh schoolchildren in 104 upazilas, of which 94 were financed by the government and 10 by the WFP.