The head teacher of Bontodiase Presbyterian Primary School in the Akyemansa District, Mrs. Emelia Mensah, has appealed for its inclusion in the school feeding programme.

This, she said, would bring tremendous relief to the school children, many of them come from poor homes.

She told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that because of the “extreme poverty” in the area, some of the pupils had been attending classes on empty stomach.

She noted that the going had been tough for majority of the parents and this was affecting education development.

Mrs. Mensah said providing the 131 pupils in the school with one hot meal a day could make a lot of difference – a big incentive to enroll all kids of school-going age and retain them.

She expressed optimism that the capitation grant combined with the feeding programme could significantly help to increase the enrolment figures.

The programme, a strategy to improve the health of children by serving them nutritious meals has the added advantage of boosting local food production.