The perceived impact of the national school nutritional programme in the selected rural and urban primary school in Mahwelereng circuit

Abstract

Nutrition is a basic human right for all humans, including children, as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights agreements. The government introduced this in 1994 to meet the nutritional needs of undernourished school learners. To date, the National School Nutrition Programme reaches almost all schools in the poorest quintiles nationwide. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for the National School Nutrition Programme in schools far beyond expectations, even in other schools outside quintiles 1, 2, and 3. The maintenance and improvement of the National School Nutrition Programme have become mandatory, hence the need to understand the impact of the National School Nutrition Programme in schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the National School Nutrition Programme in the primary schools in Mahwereleng Circuit, Limpopo Province. Primary teachers’ views on the impact of the National School Nutrition Program on schools were gathered using semi-structured interviews. A qualitative study within an interpretive research paradigm was employed to explore the impact of the National School Nutrition Programme on schools in this study. Interpretive studies attempt to generate an understanding of the phenomenon under investigation by analysing the meaning provided by the participants in the study. Interpretive research is an investigation that relies heavily on researchers defining and redefining the meanings of what they see and hear. The researcher, through non-probability convenience sampling, selected a total of 12 primary school teachers from 4 primary schools in Mahwereleng Circuit. Data from semi-structured interviews was thematically analysed and interpreted to draw conclusions that answered the research questions. Findings indicated that the National School Nutrition Program has a positive impact on learners’ welfare and academic performance in schools. The National School Nutrition Programme motivates learners to attend school; however, teachers must take advantage of the presence of learners in the school to engage learners more in classroom learning. The study appreciates the prescribed measures of food for each learner by the Department of Education, as overeating at break time negatively affects learners’ concentration. Generally, teachers regarded the implementation of the National School Nutrition Programme in South African schools as successful, given that the Department of Education maintained the supply of food to schools. However, challenges of delayed food supply by contracted suppliers and poor quality of food items supplied to schools are some of the challenges faced in schools.