Abstract:
Although on its introduction the focus of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP)
was to improve health and nutritional status of South African school children, it was put
in place to improve school attendance, curb absenteeism and drop-out by children of
school going age as a result of hunger and poverty. It was also meant to improve the
learning capacity of children since access to nutritious meals has the potential to improve
their concentration levels during instructional discourses, which can enhance the quality
of educational outcomes. This study explored the views of education stakeholders on the
challenges they encountered in implementing the NSNP in achieving its educational goals
at two schools in the Vhembe District in South Africa. Specifically, the study investigated
how the NSNP influences school access, attendance and participation at schools that are
benefiting from the NSNP in an endeavour to establish strategies for improving the quality
of schooling. Abraham Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs was applied to explain how
children’s basic needs can be a foundation to their educational needs and aspirations. A
case study design involving two schools was adopted for the study and the qualitative
research approach was employed. Purposive sampling method was employed to select
two secondary school principals, ten secondary school class teachers per school, ten
learners who were beneficiaries of the NSNP and ten of their counterparts who were not
on NSNP per school, and two circuit NSNP officers. Individual and focus group interviews,
documentary study and observations were used to collect data, which were analysed
thematically. The findings of the study revealed that: the National School Nutrition
Programme is a credible strategy for learners from poor backgrounds to access schooling
and reduce their school drop-out; there was no clear difference in academic performance
between leaners who participated and those who opted out of the Programme; educators
felt overwhelmed by administrative work for the feeding programme, which compromised
on their co-responsibilities; there were inadequate workshops to equip service providers
of the Programme; food was provided under poor hygiene conditions which made some
learners to opt out of the Programme; Programme records had inaccurate information.
Based on the main study findings, the study recommended that the programme should
continue as the majority of learners were benefiting; the Programme should have its own
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administrative personnel; there should be regular staff development workshops on the
Programme; schools should erect proper infrastructure for food storage and service; a
multi- ministerial team of experts from health, education Programme; and all schools that
have the Programme should maintain nutrition gardens for provision of fresh food. Finally,
for the effective role-taking by duty-bearers for the Programme, the study concluded by
recommending a model called the Increasing Achievement Mode for the National
School Nutrition Programme.
