ABSTRACT
The study examined the assessment of home-grown school feeding programme and the anthropometric status of the beneficiaries in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State. However, the general objective of this study was to assess the homegrown school feeding programme and anthropometric status of the beneficiaries in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyse the data obtained in the study and World Health Organisation Anthroplus was used in the analysis of the children’s nutritional status data. Results were presented in frequency and percentages. Result on socio-economic status of the beneficiaries revealed that 4.2% of mothers had no formal education, 18.6% had primary education, 56.7% had secondary education and 20.5 had tertiary education while 10.3% of fathers had no formal education, 23.9% had primary education, 51.7% had secondary education and 14.1 had tertiary education. Anthropometric status of the children revealed that 89.0% of the male and 90.7% of the female children had a possible growth problem with the BMI for Age indicator. Majority, (92.9%) of the male and 93.7% of the female had a normal height in comparison with their respective age. A number of total of 58.5% of the female children were overweight while 42.6% of the male were overweight. The results of the dietary diversity of the pupils showed that 360 (100%), 323 (89.7%) legumes and nuts, dairy 167 (46.4%) products, 201 (55.8%) animal flesh, 102 (28.3%) eggs, 108 (30%) vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables, 329 (91.4%) other fruits and vegetables, the results indicated that most of the pupils eat adequately by varying their diet. Results on the effect of home- grown school feeding programme on academic performance of the pupils showed that 261(72.5%) strongly agreed that there have been an improvement in both curricular and extra-curricular performance of the pupils while 99 (27.5%) agreed. Also, 231(64.2%) agreed, 112(31.1%) strongly agreed while 17(4.7%) were undecided that the school feeding programme have enabled pupils to begin to think effectively in the class during lesson. The assessment of the home-grown school feeding programme showed that whole grain was the major source of food supply (59.2%), followed by legumes (30.3%),fruits and vegetables (3.8%) and animal product (6.7%). It was revealed that there were an increment in the enrolment of boys 2015/2016 to 2016/2017 (32%), 2016/2017 to 2017/2018 (19%) and 2017/2018 to 2018/2019 (19%) and also there was an increment in the enrolment of girls from 2015/2016 to 2016/2017 (28%), 2016/2017 to 2017/2018 (11%) and 2017/2018 to 2018/2019 (86%). Thus, it was concluded that Home- Grown School Feeding Programme is one of the influential factors of pupils’ academic performance and pupils’ enrolment and retention.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
LIST OF TABLES vi
LIST OF FIGURES x
ABSTRACT xi
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Statement of Problem 4
1.2 General Objectives 5
1.3 Significance of the Study 5
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW 7
2.1 The Concept and Origin of School Feeding Programme 7
2.2 Nutrient Requirements for School Children 9
2.2.1 Snacks 10
2.3 Impact of Nutrition on Physical Development 10
2.3.1 Nutrition and Cognition 11
2.4 The Effects of School Feeding Programme on Pupils Academic Performance 14
2.5 Experience of School Feeding in Kano 16
2.6 State Level Implementation Experience of Kano 18
2.7 From School Meals to Home- Grown School Meals 19
2.8 Designing and Implementing a HGSF Programme Is a Complex Task 20
2.9 Foreign “Support” Of the SFCP 22
2.10 Linking Agriculture, Nutrition, Health and Education 23
2.11 The Costs and Cost-Efficiency of Providing Food through Schools in Areas of High Food Insecurity 25
2.12 School Food, Politics and Child Health 27
2.13 The Role of Home- Grown School Feeding (HGSF) In Sustainability 28
2.14 School Feeding: Outcomes and Costs 29
2.15 The Impact of Dietary Intervention on the Cognitive Development of Kenyan School Children 30
2.16 Nutritional Status of Participating and Non-Participating Pupils in the Ghana School Feeding Programme 32
2.17 Bangladesh School Feeding Impact Evaluation 33
CHAPTER 3
MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Study Design 35
3.2 Study Area 35
3.3 Study Population 36
3.4 Sampling and Sampling Techniques 36
3.4.1 Sample Size Calculation 36
3.4.2 Sampling Procedure 37
3.5 Preliminary Activities 38
3.5.1 Preliminary Visit 38
3.5.2 Training of Research Assistants 38
3.5.3 Ethical Approval 39
3.5.4 Informed Consents 39
3.6 Data Collection 39
3.6.1 Questionnaire Administration 39
3.6.2 Anthropometric Measurements 40
3.6.3 Height Measurement 40
3.6.4 Weight Measurement 41
3.6.5 Dietary Assessment 41
3.7 Data Analysis 41
3.8 Statistical Analysis 41
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Socio-economic Attributes of the Respondents 44
4.2 Dietary diversity of the Respondents for the past 24 hours 46
4.3 Anthropometric Status of the Respondents 48
4.4 Enrolment of Pupils within the Last Four Academic Sessions 50
4.5 Effect of HGSFP on Pupil’s Enrolment and Retention 39
4.6 Effect of Home -Grown School Feeding Programme on Academic Performance of the pupils 56
4.7 Home- Grown School Feeding Programme 59
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion 61
5.2 Recommendation 62
References
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Socio-economic Attributes of the Respondent 43
Table 4.2: 24-Hour Dietary Recall (Dietary Diversity of the respondents) 46
Table 4.3: Anthropometric Status of the respondents 47
Table 4.4: Effect of Home Grown School Feeding Programme on Pupil’s Enrolment and Retention 52
Table 4.5: Effect of Home Grown School Feeding Programme on Academic Performance of the pupils 55
Table 4.6: Home-grown School Feeding Programme 58
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 4.1: Enrolment of Pupils within the last four academic session 50
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Nutrition is the intake of food to nourish the body (Aina, 1992).According to Armstrong (2002), nutrition is also a fundamental pillar of human life, health and development across the entire lifespan. Nutrition is defined as the science of food and its integration with an organism to promote and maintain health (Joshi, 1997). The nutritional status or outcomes displayed by children in any given population are generally regarded as indicator of the nutritional status of the community (Akinsotu and Hissan, 1985).
According to Hart and Atinmo (1982) measures of growth in children can be used as indices of nutritional status of the community since growing children are considered to be the most susceptible to those risks associated with or resulting from under-nutrition and environmental factors as disease, infection, droughts, flood etc. This implies that their food intake needs to be given priority during these growing years in order to ensure healthy adults when they are fully grown (Ulasi, 2007).It is also important to assess the nutritional status of children because when deficiencies are detected early and treated, permanent disorder can be prevented (Akinlosotu and Hussan,1985).
Under-nutrition is one of the leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality in many developing countries, (WHO,1997; and UNICEF 1998).Evidence of high levels of nutritional deprivation in school children has spurred increasing global interest in their nutrition and health, (Drake et al.,2002).The determinant of optimal child nutrition and growth are multi-factorial, but dependent basically on adequate and appropriate nutrition largely influenced by socio economic factors and a normal health status (Ulasi, 2017).
According to WHO ( 1999), the nutritional and health status of a child has significant impact on the education of the child. The school children therefore need nutritious breakfast to start the day, a complete lunch that satisfies approximately one third of the daily requirement and a satisfying meal at the end of the day. Snacking is a way of life with school children and is a popular contributor to their energy needs. It is necessary to provide nutrient dense snacks for them, (Ene-Obong, 2001).
Childhood obesity also has emotional consequences, as many weight children suffer from psychological stress, poor body image and low self-esteem (Campell et al., 2011). Parents can help children establish healthy eating habits by making nutritious foods available by allowing children to participate in food preparation and by controlling the amount of food they eat (Robison, 2001). Care should be taken to ensure sufficient intake of calcium, vitamin D, fibre and calories. Dietary fat and cholesterol should be limited to no more than 300mg per day respectively, (Jequier, 2001).
According to Education Cluster (2009) school feeding programme has been adopted in many countries throughout the world to fight short term hunger by ensuring at least one daily nutritious meal to support access to education. The high level of food insecurity, significance incidence of malnutrition and economic meltdown all combine to make school feeding relevant. For a child suffering from hunger, going to school is not important; having enough food to eat is. Among the poor, there is often not enough food at home, and most schools in the developing countries do not have a canteen or cafeteria. On empty stomach, children become easily distracted and have problems concentrating on the school lesson (WFP, 2009).
In 2005, the federal government of Nigeria launched the school feeding programme with the assistance of the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) and the New Partnership for Africans Development (NEPAD). The objective is to provide one meal per school day to all primary school pupils in Nigeria with the objectives of improving the health of school children, increase their enrolment, retention and completion rate. Since then the enrolment rate had increased while the attendance of pupils in school is stable especially among girls who used to leave school for street trading and house -help jobs (NEPAD,2009).
According to Power et al. (1997) So far no empirical research has been carried out on the quality of the school meals in terms of nutrient content per serving to these pupils, yet it is important to ascertain that the food can achieve at least 30 percent of daily nutrient requirement target of the programme. Childhood is an important stage for both physical and mental development and it is believed that overweight children are more likely to be overweight adults and vice versa.
1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Malnutrition has increased drastically among under 5 years old children, teenagers due to lack of adequate consumption of calories from protein and other essential nutrient that are required for optimum nutritional status due to poverty and lack of adequate infant and child feeding practices by their parents and other caregivers. School children are vulnerable to malnutrition which may affect their physical and mental development, (Pollitt,1990). Some of the dietary practices of school children contributing to dietary inadequacy are meal skipping, small or poorly chosen breakfast, inadequate launch eaten away from home, choice of food left to child without adult guidance, and failure to eat enough meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables (Mcppherson, 1991).
1.2 GENERAL OBJECTIVES.
The general objective of this study is to determine the assessment of home-grown school feeding programme and the anthropometric status of the beneficiaries in Nsukka Local Government, Enugu State.
The specific objectives are
1. To assess the socio-economic status of the pupils.
2. To assess the dietary diversity score of the pupils in the selected home grown school feeding programme in Nsukka.
3. To assess the anthropometric status of children in the selected home grown school feeding programme in schools in Nsukka.
4. To assess the enrolment of children on the selected home grown- school feeding programme in selected schools in Nsukka.
5. To assess the attitude of the school management towards the home- grown school feeding programme on academic performance of the pupils
6. To assess the home- grown school feeding programme.
1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This project work will be of great benefits to dieticians, doctors, nutritionists, teachers and home-economic workers in educating the school children on healthy feeding habits. It will also help the care givers in the selection and modification of food for school children. The findings from this study will be used in steering parents towards healthful preparations at home. This project work will also generate information which could be useful to the government in planning and making adequate arrangement for the wellbeing of school children. It will also alert the school authorities to food habits of the children which may be impacting on their behaviours and intellectual abilities in the school.
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