FG to Pay Mothers ₦15,000 Monthly to Send Children to School
The Federal Government has reaffirmed plans to reform the school feeding programme by paying mothers directly through a conditional cash transfer system, estimating support at about ₦15,000 per child monthly.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, the Minister of Education, Morufu Olatunji Alausa, said the government decided to move away from the old school feeding model because it failed to deliver value despite heavy spending.
- He said, “In the past, government was buying food, employing cooks, and managing logistics, and despite spending trillions of naira over time, the outcomes were not what they should have been, because that approach was prone to waste and corruption.”
- Alausa explained that the new model treats school feeding as a social protection programme rather than a catering exercise, with payments going directly to mothers.
- He said, “What we are now doing is to redesign school feeding using technology, and instead of government cooking food, we will pay mothers directly to prepare nutritious meals for their children as a conditional cash transfer, not as a catering programme.”
He said the amount was calculated based on daily feeding costs and school days in a month.
According to him, “We estimated the cost per child at about ₦400 to ₦450 per school day, and when you look at the number of school days in a month, it comes to roughly ₦15,000, which will be paid directly to the mothers.”
The minister said payments will not be automatic and will be tied to school attendance to encourage enrolment and , the payment for that month is processed.”
- He added that technology is central to the reform because it removes middlemen and limits leakages.
- He said, “Technology is the enemy of corruption, and by paying mothers directly and linking payments to attendance and biometrics, we can ensure transparency.”
- The minister said teachers will play a role in confirming attendance, with data captured digitally for monthly assessment.
- He said, “Teachers will confirm attendance in schools, the data will be captured digitally, and by the first day of the next month, we already know who qualifies for payment.”
He stressed that the reform is designed as a planned rollout rather than an already completed nationwide programme. According to him, “This is a system we are building, using technology and social protection principles.”
إرسال تعليق