Impact of School Feeding on School Enrollment in the Tolon District, Ghana ()
1. Introduction
School feeding programmes are essential in children’s psychological formation and performance at all levels of education. School feeding programmes can potentially increase enrollment numbers in some schools and are essential in children’s psychological formation and academic performance at all levels of education. In 2005, the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) was introduced and has since been implemented as a social protection strategy across all 216 districts in Ghana, with a target of approximately 4952 primary schools (GSFP, 2015) and 1,642,271 school children and improve enrollment in schools. The programme is implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection and aims to ensure that every school-going child in Ghana is provided with a nutritious meal.
Malnutrition occurs when nutrient and energy intake does not meet or exceed an individual’s requirements to maintain growth, immunity and organ function. Malnutrition is a general term that covers both undernutrition (deficiency) and overnutrition (excess). Malnutrition can manifest in many forms, including undernutrition (indicated by wasting, stunting, and underweight), vitamin or mineral deficiency (inadequacy), overweight, obesity, and other types of excess intake that cause diet-related non-communicable diseases (WHO, 2018) . According to WHO (2018) , 50.5 million children under age five were wasted in 2017, of whom 16 million were severely wasted. As a result, 150.8 million (22.2%) children under five suffered from stunting in 2017. Also, more than half of all stunted children under age 5 live in Asia, and more than one-third in Africa (IFPRI, 2017) . Africa is the only region where the number of stunted children has increased since 2000, from 50.5 million to 58.2 million (IFPRI, 2017; UNICEF/WHO/WB, 2018) . Micronutrient food served to pupils is known to nourish the brain and improve the intelligence of children (pupils), which will lead to quality education. The success of the school feeding programmes will culminate in achieving the sustainable development goal four (4) of the United Nations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Malnutrition remains a persistent issue in many developing countries, including Ghana, and has a significant impact on the cognitive and physical growth of children. According to other researchers, school absenteeism was reduced, and food sovereignty was improved in schools with feeding programmes in East and Southern Africa (Mungai, 2004; Tomlinson, 2007; Kearney, 2008; Githuku, 2015) . GSFP thus has the potential to increase enrollment numbers in schools, improve the nutritional status of pupils, and ultimately lead to better academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the school feeding programme on school enrollment in the Tolon District of Ghana for the 2018/2019, 2020, and 2021 academic years.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
The Tolon District is located at the coordinates 9˚25'51.6"N 1˚3'53.64"W in the Northern Region of Ghana. It was formerly part of the larger Tolon-Kumbungu District that was established in 1988, which included the district capital. In 2012, the eastern part of the district was split off to form the Kumbungu District, and the remaining part became the Tolon District (Figure 1) with Tolon as its capital. The district is divided into seven educational circuits, namely Nyankpala West, Nyankpala East, Tali, Kasuliyili, Tolon West, Tolon East, and Lungbung, and is overseen by the Ghana education service.
2.2. Sampling Technique and Data Collection
The enrollment data for schools participating in the school feeding programme during the academic years 2018/2019, 2020, and 2021 were analyzed to assess their performance in the seven educational circuits of the district. Furthermore,
seven schools that did not participate in the school feeding programme within the seven educational circuits were chosen at random and used as a control group. The menu served at the schools was also examined to determine the quality of the meals and their impact on the academic performance of students participating in the school feeding programme.
2.3. Data Analysis
Differences in enrollment in schools for the stated periods were calculated and presented using frequencies and percentages. The count data was converted into continuous data using logarithm transformation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using XLSTAT 2016.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Number of School Feeding Schools in the District
The number of schools participating in the school feeding programme grew over the 2018/2019, 2020, and 2021 academic years, rising from 20 to 33 schools, which represented a 65% increase with the addition of 15 schools in 2020 and 2021 (Table 1 and Table 2). However, two schools, Gbanjong AME Zion primary school and Kuriguvuhuyayili E/A primary school, were not included in the list for 2020 and 2021, despite being present in the 2018/2019 academic year.
Of the seven educational circuits in the district, the largest number of schools were in Tolon West with nine, followed by Nyankpala West with seven, Tolon East with six, and Kasuliyili with five. Lungbung, Nyankpala East, and Tali each had two schools.
3.2. Enrollment for School Feeding and Non-School Feeding Schools for the Timeframe
The enrollment data varied over the three academic years presented in Table 3(a), Table 3(b) and Table 4(a), Table 4(b). There were differences within schools, between schools within circuits, and between circuits. Therefore, the changes in enrollment cannot be categorized as increases or decreases in the schools listed. The effect of school feeding programmes on learning seemed to come from improved school attendance and increased learning efficiency while at school.
Research on the impact of a school feeding programme in Burkina Faso found that school canteens led to higher enrollment, better attendance, reduced repetition rates, reduced dropout rates in disadvantaged areas, and higher exam success rates, particularly for girls (Moore, 1994) .
3.3. Comparison of Enrollments of School Feeding Schools with Non-School Feeding Schools
There were variations both within and between schools that participated in school feeding programmes and those that do not. Notably, schools that had feeding programmes (Table 5) had significant differences in enrollment numbers between the 2018/2019 academic year and the 2020 and 2021 academic years. However, there were no significant differences in enrollment numbers between the 2020 and 2021 academic years for all levels.
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Table 1. List of school feeding schools for the 2018/2019 academic year.
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Table 2. List of school feeding schools for the 2020 and 2021 academic years.
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Table 3. (a). Enrollment Differences for the period under school feeding schools—Kindergarten One to Primary Two (KG 1 - P 2); (b). Enrollment Differences for the period under school feeding schools—Primary Three to Primary Six (P 3 - P 6).
*Df represents the difference between the years.
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Table 4. (a). Enrollment Differences for the period under non-school feeding schools—Kindergarten One to Primary Two (KG 1 - P 2); (b). Enrollment Differences for the period under non-school feeding schools—Primary Three to Primary Six (P3 - P 6).
*Df represents the difference between the years.
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Table 5. Enrollment according to years for school feeding schools.
*Means with different superscripts in the same column represent significant differences.
The results further showed that the enrollment for schools participating in the school feeding programme remained consistent across all levels and educational circuits over the three years, with no significant differences observed (Table 6). However, the enrollment in non-school feeding schools showed some variation. There were no significant differences in enrollment between levels in primary (P1 to P6) in the three academic years, but significant differences were seen in kindergartens 1 and 2 for the academic years 2018/2019, 2020, and 2021 (Table 7).
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Table 6. Enrollment according to schools for school feeding schools.
*Means with different superscripts in the same column represent significant differences.
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Table 7. Enrollment according to years for non-school feeding schools.
*Means with different superscripts in the same column represent a significant difference.
From Table 8, there were no significant differences in enrollment between Zoolanyili E/A primary, Tolon E/A primary, Nyankpala Model, Wantugu E/A primary, UDS Basic, and Walishie D/A primary for some grade levels, while significant differences were found in others. For example, there were no differences in enrollment between Tolon E/A primary, Nyankpala Model, and Wantugu E/A primary for kindergarten 2, but there were significant differences with the other schools. Similarly, in primary 1 and 2, there were no differences between Tolon E/A primary and Gbrumani-Tibogu D/A, and within Zoolanyili E/A primary, but significant differences existed within the other schools. Additionally, there were no differences between all primary schools in primary five. However, significant differences occurred between some schools and others, such as between Tolon E/A Primary and Walishie D/A primary for primary 6.
There was no clear evidence of a correlation between the school feeding programme and enrollment figures. For instance, the enrollment figures (Table 9) from the UDS basic school, indicate that pupils travel 25 kilometres from Tamale to Nyankpala because of the school’s high performance in the Basic School Certificate Examination (BECE). This suggests that parents/guardians did not only consider school feeding in the choice of school but also academic performance.
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Table 8. Enrollment according to schools for non-school feeding schools.
Means with different superscripts in the same column represent significant differences.
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Table 9. UDS Basic School Pupils distribution based on Location.
3.4. Menu of the School Feeding Programme
The findings of this study indicate that the proposed menu (Table 10) for the school feeding programme in the Tolon District can be considered well-balanced and could contribute to meeting Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) of ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. Despite this, there is still a significant issue of food insecurity globally, with 1 in 3 people lacking regular access to adequate food and nearly 149.2 million children under five suffering from stunted growth, affecting their academic performance (United Nations, 2020) . The menu contained local meals prepared using local nutritious ingredients for the health benefit of the pupils and also teach pupils the rich culture of Ghana through food in diverse forms. Farmers, aggregators and processors in the food value chain could also benefit through the employment and income earned. The use of local ingredients collaborated with the study of Upton et al. (2012) in Burkina Faso.
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Table 10. Proposed menu for schools under the school feeding programme for the district.
Quality education is crucial in achieving SDG 4 of the United Nations, which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities. However, a large number of learners (pre-primary to tertiary) may never return to school due to various reasons. While school feeding programmes have the potential to positively impact the nutritional status and academic performance of pupils, their effectiveness may be limited, as evidenced by the findings of Agujar et al. (2020) . Nonetheless, providing appropriate nutrition is essential in preventing and treating malnutrition, as good nutrition contributes to strong immune systems, and physical and cognitive development (Maslow, 1996) , and helps break the cycle of poverty. According to Glewwe and Jacoby (1994) , malnourished children in Ghana often start school later and complete fewer years compared to well-nourished children. Thus, school feeding programmes could have a positive impact on school enrollment and attendance.
The school feeding programme’s micronutrient content can be enhanced by incorporating produce from school gardens. However, this practice is not widely followed due to limited funding and timely receipt of funds, as confirmed by Agujar et al. (2020) .
This study revealed an overall increase in the number of schools participating in the school feeding programme over the past three academic years. However, variations were observed within and between schools. There was no clear relationship established between the school feeding programme and enrollment figures. Nonetheless, the menu offered in schools participating in the GSFP has the potential to improve the nutritional status of pupils, which could lead to improved academic performance as affirmed by the World Food Programme (2008) .
4. Conclusion
There was an increase in the number of participating schools from 20 in 2018/2019 to 33 in 2020, with no change in the 2021 academic year. Although there were fluctuations in enrollment numbers between both participating and non-participating schools, significant differences were observed among some schools. While the study did not provide a clear link between the school feeding programme and high enrollment numbers, it highlighted the potential for the programme to improve the nutritional status and academic performance of pupils. The provision of these local meals could contribute to teaching pupils the rich culture of Ghana through food diversity. The procurement of local ingredients for the meals could help increase the income of farmers, aggregators, and processors along the value chain.
However, other factors such as school performance and population growth could have impacted enrollment numbers. The findings from this study can inform future decisions regarding the implementation and improvement of school feeding programmes in Ghana and similar regions. Further research is needed to assess the long-term effects of the GSFP on enrollment and academic performance in Ghanaian primary schools.
Acknowledgements
We extend our gratitude to the staff of the Ghana Education Service in the Tolon District, particularly Messrs Kassim Abu and Joseph Maclean, and the headmaster of UDS Basic School, Mr Fuseini Sule, for their support throughout the study.