INCREASING FOOD PRIZES NEGATIVELY AFFECT WEST NILE SCHOOL AS THEY STRUGGLE TO MAINATAIN FEEDING PROGRAMS

By Jackie Sitaraya,

Arua city,

Schools are feeling the pinch of the increasing cost of food items in the market as it’s a necessary requirement to keep learners at school because learning goes hand in hand with good feeding.

The prizes of the essential food items are increasing highly in the different markets both within and outside, and this has made the different schools to come up with measures to reduce expenses on food for better management of the school resources.

Currently in the different markets in Arua, a kilogram of groundnuts is sold in between 5500 to 6500 shillings, a kilogram of maize goes for 1500 shillings, and a kilogram of beans is from 4500 and above depending on the market and the source of supply.

Grace Adia, the head teacher of Arivu secondary school says, they have employed a number of measures to handle the situation including reduction in the amount of food given to the learners to keep the school running,

“We have tried reduce on the ration, the ministry is on our neck that we should not collect fees so we have held meetings with the parents to agree whether instead of money they can now bring food especially beans and posho, most parents also know that they don’t have food at home, it’s also very challenging but we trying to see what to do, my call to parents is they cooperate and it is the future of their children, and it is for the good of their children, ”Adia states,

Gerard Tayo, the administrator of Oasis schools say, because of the current rise in the prizes of food items; they now focus on priorities, leaving other areas un-attended to,

“We have agreed that we shall only buy essential goods where it is un-avoidable in the schools, non-essential activates have been reduced, we have also employed procurement officers who go and do price comparisons in these markets, especially discussing with supplies and finding out where they buy these commodities from especially food staffs, “Gerard said.

According to the stakeholders, rise in the commodity prizes require concerted efforts from both parents and the schools administrations as it possess a high risk in the performance of the learners.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis