The Kaduna State Government has highlighted the impact of its School Feeding Programme, stating that the initiative is improving child nutrition, reducing the financial burden on parents and supporting better learning outcomes for students in public boarding schools.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Uba Sani on the School Feeding Programme, Fauziya Buhari-Ado, made the remarks during a medical outreach organised by the Bantex Memorial Foundation in collaboration with the Second Chance Humanitarian Aid Foundation in Manchok, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The outreach provided hundreds of residents with free medical consultations, laboratory tests, diagnoses and treatment for cancer, eye-related ailments and hepatitis.
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Buhari-Ado described the initiative as complementing Governor Uba Sani’s commitment to improving the welfare of Kaduna residents through investments in education, healthcare and other social intervention programmes.
She disclosed that five public boarding schools in Kaura Local Government Area, like many others across the state, are currently benefiting from the Kaduna State School Feeding Programme, noting that the intervention has significantly reduced the financial burden on parents.
According to the Senior Special Assistant, the state government now bears the full cost of feeding and approved school charges for students in the benefiting schools.
“I met with the parents, and they acknowledged that the government has taken away 100 per cent of the feeding cost as well as the school charges. No parent is required to pay even one naira,” she said.
Buhari-Ado said parents had also testified to the positive impact of the programme on the health and wellbeing of their children, adding that many students now enjoy nutritious meals throughout the school term.
The Senior Special Assistant therefore urged parents to maintain similar feeding standards during the holidays, as the children had become accustomed to healthy meals in school.
“We do not want the children returning to school having lost the healthy weight they gained while in school because they are well fed,” Buhari-Ado explained.
The Kaduna State School Feeding Programme is one of the flagship social intervention initiatives of the Uba Sani administration aimed at improving nutrition among students in public boarding schools while reducing the financial burden on families.
The programme provides balanced meals to students throughout the school term as part of broader efforts to improve enrolment, retention, academic performance and human capital development.
State officials said the programme had continued to expand across public boarding schools, with thousands of students benefiting from government-funded meals and related welfare support designed to ensure that children from vulnerable households have access to quality education without the burden of feeding costs.
Commending the organisers, Buhari-Ado said the Bantex Memorial Foundation had demonstrated a sustained commitment to improving healthcare delivery in grassroots communities.
She noted that the foundation’s medical outreach, held annually over the past five years, had continued to provide critical healthcare services to vulnerable residents.
The Governor’s aide also praised the large turnout at the event, which attracted the Chairman of Kaura Local Government Area, traditional rulers, community leaders and residents, describing it as evidence of growing public confidence in community-based interventions.
She expressed optimism that the Kaduna State Government would continue to partner with organisations such as the Bantex Memorial Foundation in advancing healthcare, education and other social development programmes across the state.
The Bantex Memorial Foundation was established in honour of the late Bala Bantex, a former Deputy Governor of Kaduna State and one-time Commissioner for Health, whose legacy was defined by his commitment to public service, healthcare delivery and community development.
The foundation has sustained annual humanitarian and medical outreach programmes aimed at improving access to healthcare and supporting vulnerable communities across Kaduna State.
