Managing the National School Nutrition Programme in under-resourced schools in Limpopo – practice, successes and challenges

Abstract

This study investigates the manner in which the implementation of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) is managed by the principals in under-resourced primary schools in the Waterberg district of Limpopo province, and as such forms part of a larger joint UP and NENU study of the state of the principalship in both urban and rural settings in the two countries. Data for this qualitative study was collected within the framework of the four management functions described by Van Deventer and Kruger: planning, organising, leading and directing, as well as controlling and evaluating, by interviewing and observation. The study’s primary finding is that, although principals are aware of the guidelines and practices for the implementation of the NSNP, prescribed by the Department of Basic Education, they rely almost entirely on other role player at school level to manage the programme, without any day-to-day involvement in the process or any recognition of their own roles and responsibilities in this regard.