SCHOOL feeding is a comparatively new concept in the world. Before the Industrial Revolution and well into the 19th century, the only children who were given any schooling were those of the wealthy and upper classes. The vast majority of children worked with their parents as agriculturists or in trades such as blacksmiths or carpenters, and this is commemorated in nursery rhymes such as Little Boy Blue and Little Bo Peep, depicting children who had the responsibility of taking the sheep out to graze in the role of shepherds.
The operation of industrial machines necessitated by the Industrial Revolution and the almost continual wars and standing armies of European nations required that workers and soldiers should have at least basic literacy. As a result, the Church, private benefactors, and the State began to provide mainly primary schools for working-class people. Guyana, as a British colony, reflected the educational milieu of Britain, and after the ending of slavery, Christian Churches began to build and staff schools with financial and other assistance from the colonial State.
This system of Victorianesque education, with its corporal punishment, continued until after World War II. There was a great deal of absenteeism caused by the poverty of parents who were not able to send their children to school due to hunger. Most children went to school hungry or malnourished and were not able to have anything to eat until after school at 3 p.m. After World War II, in the 1940s, children—especially in Georgetown schools—were given a light snack, a drink, and a tablespoon of a vitamin tonic at the lunch period.
In the 1960s and for the next two decades, the country was enveloped in political instability and disorder, and attempts at school feeding fell into desuetude. In the 1980s and 90s, children in the primary schools, mainly in Georgetown, were irregularly given light snacks.
In the last decade, school feeding came to be regarded as a necessary part of the educational system. Firstly, because food—especially for children—was regarded as a human right; and secondly, it was recognised by the State and medical opinion that if young children were not fed properly, this would hamper their brain development and the adult citizenry of the country would turn out to be less able to achieve social and economic development. Accordingly, the school feeding administrative section under the aegis of the Ministry of Education became firmly established and funded.
Though school feeding has been established in all the regions, not all schools have so far benefitted, and the menus and quantity of food per student are now striving for standardisation with the help of nutritionists from the Ministry of Health. In Guyana, in the formulation of menus—unlike uni-cultural countries—some cognisance has to be given to the food used by children in the Amerindian, Indian, and African cultural areas. However, the menus really do not differ much, and some favourites like rice puffs and energy biscuits have a permanent place everywhere.
At the moment, meals are provided for the nursery and lower classes in the primary schools, but the secondary schools so far have been out of the net. The school feeding regime is fast moving towards standardisation and extension to all children at both the primary and secondary levels and the Chief School Feeding Officer, Mr Tanner, is optimistic about achieving this before year end.
The School Feeding Programme has many benefits: It has almost eliminated absenteeism since children go to school because they would receive meals; academic performance has greatly improved, as hunger and food insecurity had negatively affected academic performance; the local economies have benefitted since farmers have a regular and secure market for their produce, and a number of food caterers who provide food for the programme now have a regular source of income. Lastly, it serves as an educational tool to teach children the importance of healthy eating habits and nutrition.