Durban - The Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal says following the near collapse of the school nutrition programme, after the sole supplier appointed for the task battled to deliver, it will now revert to the “old method of supply and delivery”.
In a circular issued by the department on Wednesday, it said: “Following the withdrawal of Pacina retail from the NSNP (National School Nutrition Programme) Private Label Programme, the department is invoking Clause 8.2.6 of the amended NSNP policy which states that:
“Where the private label programme defaults, or experiences challenges on non-compliance which causes non-feeding, the department shall revert to the old method of supply and delivery of food items to schools.
“That of using successful service providers of each cluster to supply and deliver food procured from any cash and carry store,” said the circular.
The Department of Education has been under fire for the past few weeks, after it awarded this contract worth R2 billion for feeding more than 5000 schools and more than 2 million pupils, across the province to one supplier, who battled to deliver.
Since the schools returned from the Easter break, some of them have not had any food deliveries which meant many pupils, some who rely on school meals for something to eat, have starved.
There have been reports that schools that received supplies were short, in some cases the food will be there and no gas to cook it and in others the food was not of acceptable quality or fit for human consumption.
There have also been reports that rotten cabbages had been delivered to the schools.