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Chapter I

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

School feeding programs have been established in large parts of developing

countries all over the world, improving general socioeconomic conditions as well as

providing educational and nutritional benefits to participants. Recent reviews

concluded that school feeding programs have a significant positive effect on growth

and cognitive performance in children (World Health Organization, 2010).

According to the 2017 Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) estimate,

923 million people in the world were chronically hungry, which was an increase of

about 75 million people from the 2013-15 estimates (FAO 2017). Many of these are

children, and a vast majority of them are in developing countries. These numbers

suggest that the Millennium Development Goals related to hunger and malnutrition

were not met by 2015. The persistence of hunger, malnutrition, and micronutrient

deficiencies can have long lasting effects on the health status and productivity of

people and their nations. Early malnutrition can adversely affect physical, mental,

and social aspects of child health, which in turn leads to underweight, stunted

growth, lowered immunity, and mortality. Research has shown that the physical

effects of malnutrition as measured by indicators such as body mass index (BMI),

have a significant impact on an individual’s productivity and wages (Broca and

Stamoulis 2013). Jomaa et al. (2011, p. 84) state that “childhood undernutrition

imposes significant economic costs on individuals and nations, and that improving
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children’s diets and nutrition can have positive effects on their academic

performance and behaviors at school as well as their long-term productivity as

adults.” Alderman, Hoddinott, and Kinsley (2016) found that malnutrition led to

delayed entry to school, less overall schooling, smaller stature, and 14% lower

earnings as adults. As urbanization is increasing, rates of poverty and poor health

outcomes are augmenting as well (Asefa, 2017). Questions raise whether feeding

programs are effective in elementary and secondary public schools. Furthermore,

are we aware of any determinants that might overrule the success of a school

feeding program?

Various child psychologists have said that growth and development of a child

depends among other things the nutrition of mother before and after birth. The

provision of adequate nutrition aims at promotion of good health recognized as

constituting the found action of proper growth of children. Various researchers assert

that, a child’s fastest growth in physical, mental and socio emotional characteristics

take place during this age and children are found to be most vulnerable to

environmental influence. More traumatizing is that growth deficiencies that occur

during preschool years are difficult and sometimes impossible to reverse. Following

this argument then, attention to make an impact in the nutritional status and

academic outcomes of pupil-beneficiaries in Mathematics was the focus of the study.

It’s clear that improved nutrition and health are seen as necessary conditions

for increasing academic outcomes of pupils, retention and learning achievements in

school can also be met. In developing countries like Philippines for instance,

malnutrition results from deficiencies and most always poverty. The evidence is
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unequal in demonstrating that short stature school children a product largely

resulting from growth retardation in early childhood combined with environmental

factors related to poverty is an indicator of risk of poor school performance. In the

Philippines, the issue of nutrition and health of children has been of great concern.

To address the issue of hunger among school children, Department of Social

Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Education (DepEd) are each

allocating less than P2,000 per child for 120 days of feeding.

Part of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is the enhancement of

the health and education status of children. To help in achieving these MDGs, The

Department of Education (DepEd) has been conducting School-Based Feeding

Programs (SBFP) since 2010. DepEd, through its regional offices, identifies students

nationwide who are malnourished. SBFP beneficiaries are selected based on this

database. For school year 2012-2013, the program covered 40,361 (or a mere

7.56%) of the 534,054 identified malnourished students from kindergarten until

Grade 6.

The small coverage is largely attributed to budget constraints, DepEd

Assistant Secretary Tonisito M.C. Umali said. DepEd’s SBFP budget for food is P15

per child and P1 per child for operational expenses, multiplied by 120 feeding days.

This sums up to about P1,920 per child.

Lasting for 120 days, the feeding program targets the restoration of at least

70% of beneficiaries to their normal nutritional status and the improvement of class

attendance by 85-100%. DepEd works with LGUs and private partners like Jollibee

(Busog, Lusog, Talino Program) for other feeding programs outside SBFP. School
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canteens are also tasked to help in the elimination of malnutrition among students

(Rodriguez, 2015).

The education of children in the country has become the primary importance

to educators, parents and society in general resulting in the involvement of

numerous related philosophies. Children are the future of any society. For this

reason, children should be a starting point in any society that emphasizes human

development. It is the children whose individual growth, development and society

contribution will shape the future of the world.

During early years of life, effects of nutrition and health are potentially capable

of having long term consequences that can affect a child’s history of formal

education. Children’s readiness for school is determined in part by a child’s physical

development aptitudes and motivation to learn. Poor nutritional status and poor

academic performance of children in school is a prevalent condition in different

schools in the Philippines. A number of prevalent nutrition and health conditions are

shown to affect school participation and educational outcomes. This points a

glooming picture especially towards the future, as it is true that this is a slow growth

and is prevalent within the school system hence has serious developmental

implications. Many institutions and government bodies have often ignored the

importance of child health and nutrition and can be rampaged for improved

children’s performance. This study therefore expects to fill the gap.

Pupils understand concepts and have higher retention when they actively

participate in the lesson. But then again, these pupils will not be able to participate

actively in school when their nutritional status is compromised.

As Dienes cited in Briggs (1968 retrieved in 2016) indicated, there is need for

us to ‘’shift the emphasis from teaching to learning from our world to the children’s

word’’. Above all, our opportunities should be provided for the learners to think for

themselves, so that learning for them is an active and creative process. But learning

can only be best achieved when the pupils are healthy. Their nutritional status must

be healthy and stable, only then can they function academically good.

Generally, teachers should provide students with an environment containing

the best materials for learning. In such environment, teachers will observe and plan

while the students will experience and discover. It must be understood however, that

the teachers must also look into the over-all status of the pupils including health.

Most studies address research objectives as nutritional status, school

attendance and cognitive performance. However, the effect of a feeding program on

nutritional status has been evaluated before but the process of how school feeding

programs are being done seem to lack details. The nutritional health of the pupils

when compromised will hinder the academic outcomes of the pupils. Furthermore,

when it is possible to identify determinants overruling this process, this study might

be able to provide new insights into the complex utilization and liquidation process

that school-based feeding programs are into. The research goal therefore is to

determine the school-based feeding program utilization and liquidation process of

the public elementary schools in Urdaneta City.

Statement of the Problem

This study will aim to determine the level of utilization and liquidation practices

of the public elementary school heads in the School-Based Feeding Program

(SBFP) in Urdaneta City covering the school year 2017-2018.

Specifically, it will seek to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondent-schools in terms of their SBFP utilization

and liquidation practices as to:

a. personal profile of the school heads:

1. age;

2. sex;

3. civil status;

4. highest educational attainment; and

5. position;

b. school profile:

1. amount of monthly SBFP funds; and

2. number of recipients?

2. What is the level of practice of SBFP among school heads along:

a. utilization; and

b. liquidation?

3. Is there a significant difference in the level of practice in the utilization and

liquidation of SBFP among school heads across their profile variables?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the level of practice in the utilization

and liquidation of SBFP among school heads and their profile variables?
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5. What program can be proposed to improve the utilization and liquidation

practices of school heads in the SBFP of the Public Elementary Schools?

Null Hypotheses

This study tested the following hypotheses at .05 alpha level of significance.

1. There are significant differences in the level of practices in the utilization and

liquidation of SBFP among school heads across their profile variables.

2. There is no significant relationship between the level of practices in the

utilization and liquidation of SBFP among school heads and the profile

variables.

Significance of the study

The researcher believed that this research will be significant to the following:

Authorities in the Department of Education. The result of this study may in

one way or another help in policy formulation or review relevant to the School-Based

Feeding Program being implemented in the public schools.

School Administrators/Principals. Output of this study will be useful for

school administrators/principals who wish to aim better as leaders. The findings of

this study will provide them with essential data that may help them in the utilization

and liquidation process of their SBFP.

Teachers. This will benefit them since they are with direct contact to the

pupils, they can help in the facilitation of the school-based feeding program. Also,
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through this study, the teachers can be capacitated to understand how the process

of the SBFP goes.

Pupils. Pupils of the public schools will also benefit from the conduct of the

study. The improvement that this study may result into in terms of the utilization and

liquidation process of SBFP is anticipated. With that, pupils will be benefitted since

they are the direct clients of the school-based feeding program.

Parents and Other Stake holders. As the pupils are benefited, parents and

other stake holders will also benefit from the study as it aims to work for the

betterment of the nutritional status and academic status of the pupils. The fact that

parents always look forward for the betterment of their children’s’ educational

learning, the result of this study is something that will fulfill their objective.

Future Researchers. The result of this study may lead future researchers

into a study that will come-up with significant results that can be utilized as basis for

studies that will result to the improvement of school based feeding program.

Scope and Delimitation

While this study will aim to accomplish its objectives, there are several

limitations.

First, total enumeration of sample will be chosen and therefore a selection

bias limits applicability of the results to some population. Comparison of profile data

of the sample group is limited because of the use of percentiles. During the data

collection, field tables were used and a child was categorized as (for example)

stunted or not stunted, but no separate comparison scores were calculated on site.
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Secondly, there may have been reporting bias because the precise age of

children was not always the same and were only based from school records and

reports.

Thirdly, there is a time delay between the collection of data of the sample

group. Living circumstances may have changed (either positively or negatively) and

this may in turn have changed the children’s overall health.

Fourthly, a preliminary implementation of the program after operating for 1

year during 120 schooldays were made in the past two years. The researcher expect

the program effect to be more evident after a couple of years of full operation and

improvement in utilization and liquidation is already expected.

Fifthly, in this study, the researcher relies on data reported by school heads.

The relatively small sample size greatly limits the ability to generalize our results.

The researcher chose not to analyze one interview outcome with the other, as

sample sizes would be even smaller and outcome would not be informative. The

researcher encourage larger-scaled studies to evaluate these variables and their

interaction because this will contribute to better understand the utilization and

liquidation process of SBFP.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally and lexically for the purpose of

this study.

School-Based Feeding Program. The Department of Education implements

the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) which targets all undernourished pupils
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from kindergarten to grade 6 and is funded from the General Appropriation Act

(GAA). The program upholds its objectives in the improvement of classroom

attendance of target beneficiaries to 85% per year, and encourage learners to go to

school every day. To achieve a significant impact on the nutritional status of

children, the feeding shall be done for at least 120 days. The budget allocated for

feeding is Php16 per beneficiary multiplied by the number of feeding days.

Utilization. The action of practical and effective use of the allotted fund for

the School-Based Feeding Program being implemented by public elementary

schools.

Liquidation. The last stage of a workout plan. In this study, it is the process

of submitting records of expenditures for the School-Based Feeding Program of the

public elementary schools.

Public Elementary Schools. Pertains to the beneficiary schools which are

mandated to implement the School-Based Feeding Program for undernourished

children. They are the elementary schools under the Schools Division Office of

Urdaneta City.