CEBU City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) central office is set to review and evaluate the implementation of the Food-for-School Program (FSP) in Central Visayas.

The officials will come here on Thursday for the three-day National Program Review and Evaluation Workshop (NPREW).

During the review, FSP’s implementation and accomplishments in the region in school years 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 will be evaluated.

DSWD 7 dietary nutritionist Melinda Canares said the NPREW will tackle, among others, FSP’s accomplishments in terms of the number of beneficiaries and the day care center the program has catered to.

FSP here benefited over 38,000 day care pupils.

About 38,409 day care pupils from 1,185 day care centers in Bohol and Negros Oriental enjoy rice subsidies from the program.

The Arroyo administration implemented this in 2007 to mitigate hunger among poor families and improve school attendance and enrolment among pre-school children and elementary pupils.

Canares said the review will also evaluate FSP’s complementary activities, review its financial aspects, and discuss issues and concerns related to its implementation.

She said FSP has elicited positive feedback from parents in Negros Oriental and Bohol, who said their children’s health and school attendance have improved, especially during the previous drought.

“The parents hope the program will continue; they find it very helpful especially during El Nino,” she said.

She believes the program is beneficial and its planned abolition may disappoint the parents.
DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman announced early this month the Aquino administration’s plans to abolish the program due to setbacks in the system, such as leakages and wrong beneficiaries.