Feed Kids â€" Cultural Leaders

By Joyce NamutebiCULTURAL leaders have expressed concern about lack of meals for primary school children.They appealed to government to come up with a policy on feeding, state minister for primary education, Mrs. Namirembe Bitamazire, has said. The cultural leaders in the country raised the concern during meetings with the Minister. They asked government to come up with a policy on feeding because the communities were poor. Bitamazire told The New Vision on Thursday that she had this month visited the Emorimori of Teso, the Adhola, the Kyabazinga of Busoga, the Omukama of Bunyoro and Omukama of Teso to brief them on UPE programme and also get their comments on the subject.However, Bitamazire said she informed them that the policy on feeding was there and that Government still maintains that position.The stand of government, she said, was that feeding was the responsibility of parents and guardians.She said the cultural leaders want government to mobilise milk for the children. But Bitamazire said this was a costly project and that the Ministry was still studying possibility of supplying the milk.“The cost of UPE is very high and we feel we should share the responsibility,” she said. She said the cost of UPE was sh14b per term for the whole country, excluding money for building classrooms, desks and teachers’ salary.Ends