Abstract:
School enrollment to basic education in Arid and Semi-Arid lands (ASAL) are low as result of traditional cultural practices, poor learning facilities and human poverty. The School Feeding Program (SFP) was adopted by the Kenyan government in 1980 to incentivize school age children to learn and reduce absenteeism. The aim of the study was to examine school feeding programs as a strategy to increase performance and retention levels in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands in Kenya. In this study, an in depth analysis of the Kenya Home Grout School Meal Programme was carried out to establish how School Feeding programmes increases the retention and performance of pupils in Kajiado County and to determine whether the quality and quantity of the school meals influences the performance and retention of pupils in Arid and Semi-Arid lands. The methodological approach used is mixed designs. A two stage sampling was used in collection of the primary data. In the first stage sampling it entailed purposive sampling of thirty public schools in Kajiado County. The second stage sampling involved a random selection of public schools in Kajiado County with probability of a similar population size of each participant school. Ten Kenyan public schools which have incorporated the Home Grown School Feeding Programme will be assessed and analyzed. The School Feeding Program in Kenya is currently transitioning from externally rusted programmes to nationally supported programmes the paper will also seek to establish whether this process has affected the current status of the school feeding programmes. This study revealed that Home Grown School Feeding Programme is a safety net that assists school going children to remain in school and has to some levels increased the performance levels of leaner. The study determined that increased performance and retention levels of pupils in Arid and Semi- Arid Lands will not be facilitated by Home Grown School Feeding Programmes alone but also an increase in human resource, learning materials and improved infrastructure.
The majority of responses emphasized the increased participation of county government in the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in order to ensure sustainability of the programme since it's mainly involved in Early Child Development.
The success of the school feeding programme in the county require; participation of both National and County government with regards to the recent handover of the School Feeding.
