40% of Kaduna pupils attend school because of free meals, says gov's aide

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani.

The Kaduna State Government has said about 40 per cent of pupils currently enrolled in public schools attend because of its free school feeding programme, describing the initiative as a key strategy for reducing the number of out-of-school children, particularly Almajiri pupils.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Uba Sani on the School Feeding Programme, Fauziya Buhari-Ado, disclosed this in a statement on Friday after receiving an Award of Excellence in Education Advancement from the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria.

She also commended Governor Uba Sani’s education reforms and called for sustained support for the school feeding programme.

According to Buhari-Ado, the administration recognised from inception that tackling the challenge of out-of-school children, particularly among Almajiri pupils, required urgent reforms centred on free education and school feeding.