Sustainingtheschool Feeding Program: A Case Of Selected Public Primary Schools Which Are Financed By Donors In Mkalama District, Tanzania

ABSTRACT

This study investigated sustaining the school feeding programme in Mkalama District, Tanzania. The study adopted cross-sectional survey design, through qualitative research supported with some elements of quantitative research approach. It was conducted in three primary schools selected in urban and rural areas. The study was guided by Vroom Expectancy Theory of Motivation which focuses on the idea that people believe, there are relationships between the efforts they put forth, the performance they achieve from that effort and the rewards they receive from their efforts and performance. The population for the study involved public primary school teachers, head teachers, school committee members, parents with high, moderate and low income, students and the District Primary School Education Officer. The study involved 79 participants selected through both purposive and simple random sampling. Data were collected using interviews, questionnaire, focus group discussion, documentary review and observations. Qualitative data were analyzed by using thematic analysis and Quantitative data were analyzed using statistical package for social science version 16 (SPSS). Results from the study revealed that there were other sources of funding rather than donors which were supporting SFP in public primary schools‟ such as involvement of the society around the school and the government participation in feeding programme. However, the study revealed that the main challenges facing SFP were involvement of the community members. The suggested strategies to overcome/alleviate the challenges included educating parents on the importance of the school feeding programme, establishing action groups within the society and incorporating school feeding programme in the national policy and budget. Furthermore, respondents suggested that there should be cooperation among all stakeholders in implementing SFP.