Mrs Titi Doro, the Special Assistant to the President on Finance of the National School Feeding Programme, has stressed the need for Niger government to provide more school furniture for primary pupils.
Doro made the call in Paiko during an assessment tour of the schools benefiting from the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Niger when she led a national team on Tuesday to the state.
According to her, the state government should provide more furniture in public primary schools where the pupils were sitting on the bare floor in their classrooms.
“I am satisfied with the progress made in the school feeding programme in Niger state.
“However, aside from that, the state government and the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) need to do more as regards to infrastructure in public primary schools.
“I noticed some classes do not have furniture, others have but not enough to accommodate the pupils as some of them are sitting on the floor to receive lessons and to eat,” she said.
Doro said that funds for the school feeding programme were available, adding that the national team would make its recommendations to the Federal Government at the end of the tour.
This, she said, would enable the team to capture nursery and primary four to five under the programme.
She, however, commended the state government for successfully implementing the school feeding programme and for engaging communities, procurement and value chains.
Earlier, Hajiya Aisha Garba, Head Teacher of Korokpa Nursery and Primary School in Paiko Local Government Area, said that the school feeding programme had increased school enrollment in the area.
“Children are eager to resume school earlier than before because they know that they will be given food in school and it has increased children retention in the school,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries, Zainab Dauda, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the pupils with meals during school hours.
“I want to thank Baba Buhari for giving us food to eat, we are very happy and we will continue with our studies,” she said.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the visiting team consisted of participants from six states of Kaduna, Benue, Bauchi, Ogun, Anambra and Akwa Ibom.