The aim of the Department of Education for the feeding program is to address under nutrition and short term hunger syndrome among public school children who do not eat breakfast and walk long distance to reach school.
It is the fact that almost 70,000 undernourished school children who have difficulty learning because they come to class on an empty stomach are benefiting from the breakfast feeding program funded by the Dep Ed, local Government Units & the private sectors.
According to Education secretary Armin Luistro “this is the most vulnerable group of children who have difficulty paying attention to the lessons in class because of hunger and are in danger of dropping out if no intervention is made’’ said Luistro.“the specific objective is to ensure 85 to 100% attendance among the target pupils and improve their health and nutrition values and behavior ‘’, the education secretary explained.
The feeding program is usually done during breakfast. This was initially implemented in 1997 in Pangasinan, Bohol & Lanao del Norte. Here in Bataan Division, this program is implemented division wide, which is participated in by the parents of students who will act as cook and server of the food. The meal planning &preparation are transferred to the parents. The menu, according to Dep Ed, will be carefully planned to ensure that the food to be served are balanced and nutritious. The program will also make use of the produce from the Gulayan sa Paaralan.
The feeding program will be complemented with, dep Ed’s essential health care program that includes deworming, regular hand washing & oral hygiene.
Here in the Division Of Bataan the implementation of the feeding program is quite a success; based on the performance of pupils both in the National Achievement Test (NAT) and Regional Achievement Test. Almost all the districts are implementing this program in this Division.
By: MR. CLARO TRIA DE CASTRO | Teacher III | Asuncion Consunji Elementary School, , Samal, Bataan (Former Imelda Elementary School)
