Does In-School Feeding Program Have Effect on Enrolment and Academic Performance? The Case of Public Primary Schools in Northern Ghana.

Type Journal Article - Adrri Journal of Arts and Social Sciences
Title Does In-School Feeding Program Have Effect on Enrolment and Academic Performance? The Case of Public Primary Schools in Northern Ghana.
Author(s)
Volume 13
Issue 1
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2015
URL http://journals.adrri.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Manuscript-Number-ADRRIJASS-15-920-.pdf
Abstract
The study used a district-level data from 2008-2012 to examine the effect of school feeding program on enrolment and academic performance of pupils in food insecure district of Garu-Tempane, Upper East Region. A quasi-experimental design was used to select 360 pupils from participating and nonparticipating public primary school pupils. Results show that the feeding program succeeded in
increasing gross enrolment rate by almost a quarter (24%) in participating schools. However, the enrolment rate in non-participating schools plummeted to as low as 7%.In terms of academic performance, participating pupils performed better in core subjects of English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science than non-participating pupils. Furthermore, chi-square analysis of relationship between socioeconomic variables and academic performance showed that sex and occupation of parents/guardians were significant. However, chi-square analysis of relationship between socioeconomic variables and enrolments showed no significant relationship. In conclusion the program has succeeded in targeting the poor and vulnerable in participating school pupils. The findings have implication for access to primary schooling particularly for girls. The study therefore recommended that the feeding program should be well-targeted not only on the basis of food insecurity but through a more rigorous in-depth socio-economic survey and vulnerability mapping with a view to scaling-up of the program.

Related studies

»