Assessment of home-grown school feeding program on pupils’ nutrition, school enrolment, attendance and performance of public elementary school pupils in Northeastern Nigeria

B.Sc. Bulus Barnabas, M.Sc.

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

The aim of a school feeding program (SFP) is to improve the pupils’ nutritional status, health, educational outcomes, and overall well-being of pupils while addressing issues of household food insecurity and poverty. This is achieved by providing pupils with nutritionally balanced diet meals (cultivated locally) to alleviate short-term hunger and supplement the food they receive at home while motivating them to enroll and attend school regularly. The aim of the study is to assess the effect of SFP on pupils’ nutritional status, school enrolment, attendance and academic performance. Other objectives of the study are to examine the impact of the home-grown school feeding program on smallholder farmers' household food security status and to assess the food safety knowledge of caterers involved in cooking for the pupils. The findings will provide decision-makers with information on the effects of the program. Adamawa, Bauchi, and Gombe states were purposefully selected for the study due to less risk of attack and kidnapping by the Boko haram insurgency. Sixty (60) beneficiaries and nine (9) non-beneficiaries’ primary schools were selected, with 600 and 180 pupils chosen at random from the schools, respectively. Information gathered includes the number of students enrolled, attendance, and math and English performance scores to assess their learning performance. Anthropometry and individual dietary diversity scores were also obtained in order to determine pupils’ nutritional status. Linear regression, propensity score matching, inverse probability-weighted adjusted regression and endogenous switching regression were used to assess the effect of the school feeding program. Smallholder farmers (240) supplying food to caterers under the school feeding program were surveyed and their household security status was assessed using a food consumption score indicator. A probit regression, propensity score matching, inverse probability-weighted adjusted regression and endogenous switching regression were used to examine the effect of linking farmers to school feeding program. Caterers cooking for pupils, their food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices were analyzed using multiple linear regression.

Keywords

Pupils, Nutrition, School feeding, Smallholder farmers, Education

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 13. 7. 2023

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Miroslava Bavorová, Ph.D.
• Reader: Drini Imami, externi, Harald Kaechele, externi, Salawu Ayemi Jibril, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Doctoral programme / field:
Agricultural Specialization / Sustainable Rural Development in the Tropics And Subtropics