The Ministry of Education has asked Nairobi-based public primary school headteachers to carry out sensitization on the ‘Dishi na County’ program.
‘Dishi na County’ is a school feeding programme by Nairobi City County in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
Speaking at St. George’s Primary School during a meeting with, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said finalization of a legal instrument to facilitate the partnership outlining the obligations of each party and spelling out the implementation mechanisms was underway.
“As school heads, you will be expected to facilitate access to your schools.
We also expect you to sensitize your school communities, especially the parents, guardians and learners, of this programme.
To ensure the smooth and efficient roll-out of the programme, we will depend on you for accurate data on the enrolment in your schools so that the correct quantities of food are supplied,” said Machogu.
“We expect you to support the implementation team by facilitating the monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
Once the legal instrument is finalised, the Ministry will provide you with further guidance on the programme, and what is expected of you,” he added.
Machogu stated that on their part at both levels of Government, they will work hard to secure additional partnerships and resources, so as to expand the programme.
We’ll also place for instance all Special Needs Schools and Camp-Based Refugee Schools countrywide under the School Meals programme.
“Even as we expand the programme, we are conscious of the need to use methods that are friendly to our environment.
This is why we are also working towards clean energy cooking solutions for our schools,” he said.
On June 20, 2023, President William Ruto presided over the ground-breaking of the Nairobi School Meals Programme Kitchen’s construction at the Roysambu Primary School in the company of Nairobi City Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Through the initiative, 17 kitchens will be constructed in various parts of the County, with each kitchen serving between 10 -15 schools in the County; and will help to ensure the 293,019 learners in pre-primary and primary schools in the county access meals in their schools and further intended to enhance and boost the current School Meals Programme in the county.
Currently, the Ministry of Education, through the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK), has been running the School Meals Programme in schools in 26 ASAL counties and in informal urban settlements, including in Nairobi County.
The programme presently covers 2.3 million children in food-insecure areas. In Nairobi, the NACONEK-funded Uji programme is currently benefiting 120 primary schools.
By Roy Hezron
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