In a bid to tackle the alarming rate of out-of-school children and enhance access to quality education, Governor Dauda Lawal on Thursday launched a pilot school feeding programme at Dan-Turai Primary School in Gusau, Zamfara State.
The initiative, backed by development partners and non-governmental organisations, aims to fight hunger, improve pupil enrollment, and boost retention rates across primary schools in the state.
Speaking at the event, Governor Lawal reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to reversing the rising number of out-of-school children. He said the school feeding initiative is part of broader efforts to reform the education sector and address its deep-rooted challenges.
“Our education reform agenda includes partnerships with organisations like the World Bank through the AGILE programme and UNICEF. We’ve also set up a technical committee to visit all 14 LGAs to identify and reintegrate out-of-school children,” Lawal stated.
He explained that the feeding programme is one of the emergency interventions aimed at encouraging school attendance and reducing malnutrition among pupils. Two NGOs—FINPACT Development Foundation and the International Centre for Economic Development—are supporting the pilot project.
FINPACT will fund meals for 1,000 pupils across Gusau, Maru, Anka, and Talatar Mafara, while the International Centre will cater to 3,300 pupils in Gusau, Talatar Mafara, and Shinkafi.
Governor Lawal called on more stakeholders and donor agencies to collaborate with the state in expanding such programmes. “This is crucial to achieving inclusive, quality education and significantly reducing the out-of-school children crisis,” he said.
