Influence of Ghana’s school feeding programme on enrolment and retention of basic school pupils in West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region

Abstract

After a decade of the GSFP implementation however, there are serious concerns from various stakeholders on the success of the programme and/ or the degree of achievement of its stated objectives. In the West Mamprusi Municipality in particular, not enough scientific studies have been conducted on the influence of the GSFP on enrolment and retention and this brings to the fore the need for this study to fill in the literature gap. This research work is an attempt to examine the implications of the GSFP on basic schools in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region of Ghana. The study examined the extent to which enrolment and retention were influenced by the SFPs. It focused on finding out what motivates pupils to enroll in certain basic schools, the influence of GSFP on pupils learning, and the presence of classrooms for pupils who attend GSFP schools. The work was a descriptive research of selected basic schools in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region of Ghana which were enjoying the GSFP. Pupils and teachers were used for this study. The population for pupils was two thousand and twenty-eight (2,028) out of which two hundred (200) pupils were randomly selected as the sample size. Twelve (12) teachers‟/head teachers were purposively selected to form part of the sample size. Questionnaire was the main research tool used whilst interview was used to back up the main research instrument. The research found out that the GSFP was a critical and major factor influencing basic school enrolment and retention in the schools under study, even though, the quality of teachers as well as good academic performance of schools were also mentioned as contributory factors. The study further found out that the presence of GSFP in basic schools had a positive effect on pupils‟ academic performance. The study concludes that the GSFP remains critical to the success of basic education and all efforts should be made to expand its structures and scope to the benefit of all schools. It is recommended therefore that, to alleviate hunger and improve concentration in classrooms, meals must be nutritionally balanced and provided on time, the implementation committees at the Municipality should continue to monitor the quality and quantity of the daily meals provided for pupils, information relating to school infrastructure like classrooms, kitchen and canteens (physical development) and the availability of text books and other teaching and learning materials must be given more attention, SFPs require constant monitoring and evaluation to provide input on the changing needs of the students as well as data on impacts and effectiveness.