Children who previously qualified for the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) will receive school meals or food parcels when schools reopen, Equal Education and the department of basic education said in a joint statement.
This after civil rights advocates raised concerns over the halting of the NSNP during the nationwide lockdown.
“Nine million children ordinarily benefit from school feeding schemes, which for some children is their only guaranteed meal for the day.
“The national lockdown has deepened food insecurity for South Africans across the country. This has had particularly severe implications for the wellbeing and development of children, who are guaranteed the right to basic nutrition under section 28(1)(c) of the constitution,” Equal Education spokesperson Leanne Jansen said.
According to the DBE, provincial education departments would be responsible for developing appropriate mechanisms for the collection or delivery of meals and food parcels to pupils.
This is expected to include measures such as staggered collection times and social distancing protocols to ensure the safety of pupils.
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