The Ghana School Feeding Programme and Pupils’ Enrolment in Selected Basic Schools

Education, as they say, is the key to success. However, school dropout and low participation have been a concern for some basic schools in Ghana. The aim of the study was to investigate the contribution of the Ghana School Feeding Programme to the progress of beneficial schools in some selected basic schools in the Sefwi Wiawso. The objectives of the study were: to assess how the GSFP motivates parents to enrol their wards in school; to ascertain whether the GSFP addresses socio-economic factors that affect enrolment, attendance, and retention of pupils; to find out how the GSFP contributes to the enrolment of girl child education; and to find out ways to improve upon the GSFP. The pragmatic paradigm was adopted with a mixed-methods research design, where questionnaires and interviews were administered through purposive sampling techniques to select the respondents for the study. The targeted population was 812 teachers, 11419 learners, 20,886 parents, and 140 caterers from 40 beneficiary schools in Sefwi Wiawso Constituency. A sample size of 87 was used for the study. The data obtained with the questionnaire and interview were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and thematic analysis, respectively. The findings depicted that some ways in which the school feeding program motivates parents to enrol their wards in school were: children now focus on learning when in school; and parents can redirect feeding money to other aspects of their children’s lives. In addition, the study revealed that GSFP addresses socio-economic factors that affect enrolment, attendance, and retention of wards in basic schools by reducing school dropout, hunger, and poverty, among others. The findings of the study also revealed that some of the ways in which the GSFP encourages enrolment in girl-child education are by reducing the vulnerability of girls, boosting family income, and limiting the negative consequences of emergencies on health, nutrition, and education. The study recommended that there should be frequent monitoring of the program.

Education, as they say, is the key to success. However, school dropout and low participation have been a concern for some basic schools in Ghana. The aim of the study was to investigate the contribution of the Ghana School Feeding Programme to the progress of beneficial schools in some selected basic schools in the Sefwi Wiawso. The objectives of the study were: to assess how the GSFP motivates parents to enrol their wards in school; to ascertain whether the GSFP addresses socio-economic factors that affect enrolment, attendance, and retention of pupils; to find out how the GSFP contributes to the enrolment of girl child education; and to find out ways to improve upon the GSFP. The pragmatic paradigm was adopted with a mixed-methods research design, where questionnaires and interviews were administered through purposive sampling techniques to select the respondents for the study. The targeted population was 812 teachers, 11419 learners, 20,886 parents, and 140 caterers from 40 beneficiary schools in Sefwi Wiawso Constituency. A sample size of 87 was used for the study. The data obtained with the questionnaire and interview were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and thematic analysis, respectively. The findings depicted that some ways in which the school feeding program motivates parents to enrol their wards in school were: children now focus on learning when in school; and parents can redirect feeding money to other aspects of their children’s lives. In addition, the study revealed that GSFP addresses socio-economic factors that affect enrolment, attendance, and retention of wards in basic schools by reducing school dropout, hunger, and poverty, among others. The findings of the study also revealed that some of the ways in which the GSFP encourages enrolment in girl-child education are by reducing the vulnerability of girls, boosting family income, and limiting the negative consequences of emergencies on health, nutrition, and education. The study recommended that there should be frequent monitoring of the program.