Evaluate the impact of school feeding on enrollment and attendance in Nigerian primary school: A case study of Ikere local government areas of Ekiti state

Most African countries have recently established social safety net programmes as parts of a broader strategy to assist the poor and protect vulnerable. The study investigates the impacts of school feeding programme on pupil's enrolment and attendance in primary school in Nigeria focus on Ikere Local Government Areas of Ekiti State; it will examine the level of awareness among the illiterates especially in the villages that constitute Ikere local government. Also the study will investigate the militating factors confronting the success of the programme in the study area with a sample of 200 respondents including 80 pupils, 40 teachers, 40 parents, 30 school administrators were surveyed using structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion (FGDs). The data were collected through both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected using questionnaire interview and focus Group Discussions (FGDs) secondary data were gathered through textbooks, journals, and internet materials relevant to the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation to access the relationship between school feeding programme and pupil’s enrolment and attendance. Three hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation method to evaluate the imperative of school feeding programme on pupil's enrolment and attendance. It was relevant in the study, a strong positive correlation between school feeding programme and improved school attendance, with a Pearson correlation coefficient +1 and statistical significant P-value. The study concludes that there is need to encourage school feeding programme to bring more children to school, also the study recommends sustainability of the programme in terms of funds, vendors and improve the quality of the meals available to the pupils.