445,789 pupils enjoy school feeding in Bauchi

David Adenuga Bauchi

ABOUT 445,789 pupils in Bauchi State have benefited from the Federal Government’s Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) as at March 31.

Seven thousand, five hundred and eighty-four (7,584) women and 3,000 small farmers have also been empowered through the programme.

Focal person and Special Adviser, Social Investment Programme in the state, Hajiya Amina Katagum, stated this when she presented the Poverty Alleviation and Social Investment Programmes carried out so far at a town hall meeting.

According to Katagum, school enrolment increased as a result of the programme. She said the state gets N624,230,600 monthly for feeding during school session. She added that the state is awaiting additional schools recently captured by the NBS to be included in the feeding programme.

Katagum, however, said the programme suffered a setback this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said: “In Bauchi, 445,789 school children; 7,584 women and 3,000 small farmers had benefited from the programme as at March 31, 2020. About N624,230,600 comes into the state monthly for feeding of the pupils during sessions.”

On the N-power programme, Katagum said 15,496 had benefited from the programme as at July 31, and about N500 million was injected into the state as monthly stipends to volunteers.