{"id":97479,"date":"2025-05-06T13:37:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=97479"},"modified":"2025-05-06T13:37:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:37:15","slug":"hunger-crisis-in-eastern-cape-schools-raises-alarms-over-mismanagement-of-nutrition-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/hunger-crisis-in-eastern-cape-schools-raises-alarms-over-mismanagement-of-nutrition-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunger Crisis in Eastern Cape Schools Raises Alarms Over Mismanagement of Nutrition Funds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n06 May 2025 | 13:27 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

Children can barely wait to sit down before they start eating at the Walmer Angels soup kitchen in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. Source\/Daily Maverick (Photo: Deon Ferreira)<\/p><\/div>\n

Thousands of children across Eastern Cape schools are going hungry after schools reportedly ran out of surplus funds to purchase food, sparking widespread concern about the sustainability of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP).<\/p>\n

According to governing bodies and educational unions, including FEDSAS and NAPTOSA, the programme plays a vital role in encouraging school attendance and curbing dropout rates. However, stakeholders have condemned the current failures as a result of \u201cpoor planning and lack of accountability\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jaco Deacon, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS), told Radio Islam International<\/a> that although the NSNP is largely government-funded, \u201cnot all schools receive funding from the state. Some rely on their own resources or private partners to support their nutrition programmes.\u201d Even in affluent schools, there are learners who depend on these meals for their daily sustenance.<\/p>\n

Deacon highlighted the dire impact in the Eastern Cape, estimating that \u201cclose to 90% of learners depend on that meal a day.\u201d He added, \u201cThis is not about a lack of funding. The money is budgeted and ring-fenced by Treasury and the Department of Basic Education, which means it cannot legally be used for anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite funds being allocated, schools have not received the necessary payments, leading to a breakdown in food provision. \u201cIt\u2019s the fault of officials and managers in the provincial department,\u201d said Deacon. \u201cIt\u2019s time for heads to roll. Children cannot keep paying the price for poor performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NSNP normally sees money transferred directly into school accounts, with governing bodies then managing the procurement and food preparation. But with funds missing or delayed, learners are suffering.<\/p>\n

Deacon warned of broader consequences: \u201cA hungry child cannot learn. Even if they\u2019re physically in class, mentally, they\u2019re absent.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called for national intervention, urging the Department of Basic Education to place the Eastern Cape education system under administration. \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with human rights violations. This isn\u2019t just an education issue \u2014 it\u2019s a societal failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

As hunger grips classrooms and robs children of dignity, the country stands at a crossroads\u2014will leaders act, or will mismanagement continue to starve the future of a generation?<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Jaco Deacon here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 06 May 2025 | 13:27 CAT Thousands of children across Eastern Cape schools are going hungry after schools reportedly ran out of surplus funds to purchase food, sparking widespread concern about the sustainability of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). According to governing bodies and educational unions, including FEDSAS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":97480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-06-133018.jpg?fit=855%2C528&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pmf","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 01:52:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}