DepEd school-based feeding program ‘well-managed’—study

The Department of Education’s (DepEd) School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) is a “well-managed” program according to a study recently released by state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).  However, study authors of the study have also identified vital areas that require improvement. Authors Dr. Jose Ramon G. Albert, Ana Maria L. Tabunda and Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa, PIDS senior research fellow, chief research fellow at Pulse Asia, and scientist at the Department of Science and Technology, respectively, recommend that the government address important implementation challenges, which include increasing the budget per child and for administrative and monitoring purposes.

The program’s short history has seen moderate success to develop the learning capabilities of malnourished young children by improving their health and nutrition.  The initial results of the study were discussed by a panel of DepED officers and PIDS researchers at a seminar held at PIDS recently.

Most of the discussions revolved around the finer details of the SBFP such as the budget and time constraints on the program, which the authors included in their observations.   

Beyond implementation and budget increase recommendations, the attendees agreed that the SBFP would benefit greatly from strengthening the links of interagency cooperation. Efforts of local government units and other stakeholders should converge to complement SBFP with community-based activities.

According to the World Food Programme, food for education (FFE) programs like SBFP in the Philippines is adopted across developing countries “as a mechanism to accelerate the achievements of some of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those on hunger and poverty (MDG 1), education (MDG 2), and gender equality (MDG 3)”.

Although considered a temporary fix to address large social problems, the SBFP works on the premise that there exists a strong correlation between health, nutrition, and school performance. Tracing its roots to the 1997 FFE blueprint to address short-term hunger, the SBFP goal has evolved “to rehabilitate severely wasted children to normal nutrition status and improve their classroom attendance”.

Albert and his co-researchers reviewed the conduct of the SBFP in eight schools across the country during school year 2013-2014. They analyzed the results against the program’s objectives: (1) that 70 percent of the beneficiaries must have been rehabilitated at the end of the 100-120 day feeding program, (2) that 85-100 percent of the beneficiaries attend school, and (3) that there is observable improvement in health, nutrition values, and behavior.

The researchers interviewed the team of school parents, teachers, parent volunteers, and DepED staff who together handle the procurement of supplies and finances, and conduct deworming and other complementary programs that enhance the results, which include waste management, in-house gardening, and health monitoring. They were interviewed about the program’s procedures, issues, challenges and lessons, the performance of the children, and how they perceived the implementation and management of the SBFP.

The researchers found out that beneficiaries and stakeholders laud the program.

The hands-on attitude of the DepED provincial division staff made it easy for the schools to implement the SBFP, especially where it concerned financial and procurement procedures. The division staff also made it clear to the beneficiary parents that it is important to ensure proper nutrition in their own households to sustain their children’s nutritional progress.

As a result, the health, class attendance and performance, and social behavior of the students improved. The program, the researchers noted, also helped cultivate “a culture of care and active participation among all stakeholders”.

Amid all the success, however, the researchers point out important challenges, starting with data gathering inconsistences and the lack of standard weighing measurement.

“Clearly, any encoding and measurement errors on the nutrition status data have implications on the targeting accuracy of the program as well as on correct assessment as to whether stated goals are attained (or not),” according to the study.

This threatens to misclassify the nutrition status of children, which may cause fundamental problems for the program.  Classification not only determines the effectivity of the program, but is also crucial to building the database of identified malnourished children.

Furthermore, issues with procurement and liquidation procedures resulted in delays and sometimes discontinuation of the program. Difficulty and unfamiliarity with bureaucratic processes hindered the program to meet its objectives.

Lastly, the researchers recommend that the budget of 16 pesos per beneficiary for food be reviewed and augmented.

These findings concur with experts’ views that while the SBFP can help meet MDG targets, it is not enough to end hunger, especially not for those who are already in the most vulnerable bracket and are experiencing chronic poverty.   Policymaking must be complementary and comprehensive.

Several bills have already been filed to institutionalize the school feeding program. Senator Sonny Angara’s Senate Bill No. 2020 and Senator Grace Poe’s Senate Bill No. 79 generally try to address the budgeting challenges.

But as the study shows, focusing on improving the logistics of how the SBFP is implemented and carried out is just as crucial to meeting the program’s objectives and improving the nutrition and education of the country’s most vulnerable young children. (PIDS)