Times Of Swaziland: ‘SEND CHILDREN TO SCHOOL WITH BHATATA, TINDLUBU’

‘SEND CHILDREN TO SCHOOL WITH BHATATA, TINDLUBU’
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BY SIBUSISO ZWANE on 21/06/2017 04:05:00


MANZINI – A desperate plea has been sent by school administrators to at least
send their children to school with sweet potatoes to suppress hunger pangs.
This plea comes after the much publicised food shortages that have hit many
schools in the country, as government has still not availed food under the
school feeding scheme known as Zondle. As the food shortage situation in schools
worsens, the Swaziland Association of Schools Administrators (SASA) has pleaded
with parents to at least put sweet potatoes, tindlubu (jugo beans) or umbhonyo
(boiled peanuts) in their children’s lunch boxes so that they could have
something to eat during break time.
The administrators were of the view that this would enable the pupils to at
least concentrate during lessons.
Sphasha Dlamini, the Secretary General (SG) of SASA said the situation in
schools was getting worse by the day, and asked parents and guardians to give
children what they could afford for break time so that the pupils would be able
to concentrate in class.
“We plead with parents to play their part as stakeholders in the education
system because government is currently faced with challenges,” said Dlamini.
She said their hands were tied as head teachers, especially those in primary
schools because there were no top-up fees, so there was little they could do for
the pupils.
“We are just saying they should try anything they can afford because we cannot
demand that everyone should bring a lunchbox as it might be viewed as another
form of top-up-fee,” the SG said.
The head teachers said hunger was written all over the faces of the pupils,
something that made teachers’ jobs difficult.
The school administrators have sent a number of requests to government, asking
it to act fast on the matter because they fear that they would soon start losing
lives due to hunger in schools.