Parental Involvement in the Process of Implementation of the National School Nutrition Programme in Public Schools

AbstractThis paper reports on perceptions of educators and parents about the involvement of the latter in the process of implementation of the National School Nutrition Programme in the Sedibeng and Fezile Dabi school districts in the Gauteng and Free State provinces. The paper elaborates on the empirical data gathered by means of qualitative and explorative approaches using interviews. The results indicated that the procedure for recruitment of parents was not clear resulting in lack of transparency in the process. Furthermore, there were no clear strategies in place to empower parents thus, parents could not initiate and take ownership of the programme. Stipulations of the policy regarding their roles are limiting to the extent that they could not hold suppliers accountable for their inefficiency. Volunteering as food handlers was an eye-opener to some parents enabling them to realise the importance of their involvement in their children’s education in general.