Over 35,000 ECDE learners in Kiambu County will now be getting a bowl of nutritious porridge and an egg every day while in school courtesy of the Kiambu county government school feeding program.
The programme launched by Governor Kimani Wamatangi at the county headquarters in Kiambu town targets the 524 ECD centers that house 36,524 learners to improve nutrition among the children, increase enrollment and retain the children in the school.
“We are aiming at retaining the children in school. Some children do not get a decent meal even at home and it makes them unable to concentrate in class.
The children will be getting nutritious porridge and we supplement it with an egg,” Wamatangi said.
Wamatangi said to make the programme effective the Department of Education enshrined it in the ECDE bill which is waiting to be passed by the county assembly to make it law.
“We have presented the ECDE bill at the county assembly to be passed where we have put the feeding program stating that from now henceforth it will be law and mandatory that every child in the ECDE center will be getting porridge, an egg and any other food while in school,”Wamatangi said
He said that the county government will collaborate with the ECDE centres which already have an existing feeding program adding that also private ECDE centres will be incorporated in the program.
“We will not stop the centres which have existing feeding programs but instead we will collaborate with them.
I am intending to have a conversation with all those running private ECDE centres in Kiambu which do not have the framework of the feeding program and ask them how we can adopt them and put them in the program,” he said.
He however said that he has revolutionized the county bursary fund and intends to increase the fund to Sh 500 million which currently stands at Sh 300 million to reach out to many needy cases in the county.
Lawrence Mwaura MCA Tinganga ward and the chairperson assembly committee on education said there are no subsequent governments which will remove the feeding program as it will be passed into law.
“The assembly will pass the feeding program to become law and no government will remove the program. This means our children will be feeding well from now moving forward,” Mwaura said.
The Uji flour will be procured from established producers to ensure quality, the county government will obtain eggs from farmers near the ECDE facilities as part of our economic empowerment program.
The governor further announced that his administration has started constructing 180 ECDE centres with a model of twin classrooms to accommodate PPI and PP2, an office for teachers, an ablution block, and a play space for children, and also refurbish the existing ones.
He however said that the ECDE teacher’s salary will be reviewed saying that he will engage the national government to help pay half the salary and the county government to add half to ensure they are motivated.
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