SCHOOL FEEDING AND THE CHALLENGES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA’S BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM: MATHEMATICS AT RISK

The educational system in Nigeria is at risk in the age of globalization where government involvement is minimal. However, with the recent development in the country, the national government has embarked on a school feeding program to cushion the effects of poverty in the land where parents could not feed their children due to lack of finances. This program serves to encourage punctuality and a means for the pupils to have a balanced diet that enhances brain development. Due to the increase in demand for science subjects with a special focus on mathematics in the era of scientific technology, continuity in the feeding program in schools, ceteris paribus, will ensure the learners ability to be more focused in class activities. To this, the national government places the feeding program under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. Unfortunately, this Ministry has been riddled with corruption. This brought about the place of a school feeding program in the Ministry of Education. The questions that this paper addresses are: (1) Can the feeding program enhance students’ performance in mathematics? (2) Are there other approaches to increase students' performance in mathematics? and (3) How corruption within government can be addressed holistically? Methodologically, this paper adopts secondary sources of information; and theoretically, the constructivist model formed the basis of our arguments. The paper concludes that quality food in a sustainable manner has a direct impact on learning retention.