Durban - The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in KwaZulu-Natal continues to be plagued with issues, despite assurances from the provincial government that food supplies would be delivered to all schools.
An investigation carried out by “The Mercury” has revealed that one school in the Mtubatuba area, northern KZN, with a school population of more than 300 pupils, received just 12 two-litre containers of sour milk as this week’s supply of meals.
This is among the shocking claims made by the National Teachers’ Union (Natu) regarding the challenges facing the NSNP. The provincial Department of Education has come under fire amid allegations of mismanaging the R2 billion contract that is meant to supply food to more than 5 000 schools and 2 million pupils.
The department changed the tender model by awarding the contract to one supplier instead of allocating it to many suppliers close to schools as had been the case in the past.
The new supplier has battled to provide food to schools, resulting in thousands of pupils not receiving nutritious meals since returning from the Easter break.
The crisis has prompted the intervention of the national Department of Basic Education which is demanding an explanation.
Questions have also been raised about the company that was awarded the tender, with claims that it did not have the capacity to manage the R2bn programme.
“As we speak today (Monday) there are pupils who do not have meals. They will not eat in schools today. The situation is dire, there are schools in the Umzinyathi District that have not received anything or their supply is short.
“There is one school in the Mtubatuba area that received 12 containers of sour milk that are two litres (each). The school was told that they should manage that, it is their supply for the week. The school has 350 pupils, how do you do that?” Natu general secretary Doctor Ngema asked.
Ngema said it was not just that food supply was short at pick-up points, but sub-contractors were reluctant to be “delivery boys” for the main contractor.
“The subcontractors are used to a system where they would buy food, supply it to schools and then submit an invoice to the department. But that is not the case, they have to collect food at a certain point, sometimes that collection point is very far from the school.
“So these subcontractors will drive a long distance and when they get there, there is either no food or the food will be there, but the gas to cook the food will not be there. Imagine if you were that subcontractor and you go through that, will you continue to do that job?”
A teacher in the Harding area, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said by yesterday they had not received any meals.
“We heard other schools are getting a little bit of food. We have not received anything, the children are starving.”
He said children who relied on school meals for something to eat were starving.
“Those who come to school on empty stomachs leave with empty stomachs,” he said, adding that this affected their concentration during lessons as hungry pupils couldn’t concentrate.
In a letter seen by “The Mercury”, the Department of Basic Education has demanded an explanation on why the KZN department abandoned its decentralised system; the timelines of the tender process to determine if the process was legally compliant; and asked to be provided with all documentation related to the tender process, including why the department viewed the company as deserving of the tender.
KZN Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said while they had not reached 100% coverage with the programme, the situation was improving daily.
“I can tell you now that the situation has improved from last week and is better than it was when we opened (after the Easter break),” he said.
Asked about the allegation that one school received 12 containers of milk for 350 pupils, Mahlambi said: “We can admit that those are some of the glitches that we are dealing with.
“It is not that schools are not getting anything, it is that they are not getting the right quantity, in some cases, you find that the (suppliers) will take more (food) and when the other suppliers (from other schools) come, there is less food.”