The Narok County Government will start a school feeding programme to benefit all public schools so as to retain children in school, Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu has said.
Speaking at Emurua Dikirr area during a prize-giving day, Ntutu said a high number of school-going children remain at home because of hunger, saying the feeding programme will help keep them in school.
The governor reiterated that some areas in the county were extremely dry, where residents depended totally on livestock farming but suffered huge losses during prolonged dry spells.
“We will put together a strategy with the education department to get a record of all primary school children so that we can begin a feeding programme that will see all children get at least one meal per day. This will sustain them in school and improve their health,” he said.
The first time Governor said his administration will take all measures necessary to ensure that all school-going children attend school as required.
Research conducted by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the government of Kenya in 2021 showed that over 32, 000 children in the county were out of school.
Narok South Sub-County had the highest number of out-of-school children at 10,580, followed by Narok West Sub-County at 9,590, and Narok East Sub-County had 3680 school-going children.
Ntutu asked the residents to take advantage of the feeding programme and the free primary education to take their children to school.
“We can compete with other counties if we ensure that our children are educated.” I ask all parents to stop retrogressive cultures that compromise education and take their children to school,” he said.
The governor was accompanied by his deputy, Tamalinye Koech and Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ngeno.
Stephen Tikani, a youth leader in the county, said the feeding programme will be a big boost to the education sector as it will attract and retain many children in school.
“There are many bright children who come from poor backgrounds but fail to go to school because of a lack of food. The feeding programme will encourage them to remain in school,” he said.
By Ann Salaton
