School Feeding, Attendance and Academic Performance in Rural Primary Schools in Uyui District, Tabora, Tanzania

Abstract

School feeding programmes are intended to reduce short-term hunger and strengthen pupils’ participation in education, yet evidence on how programme implementation relates to academic outcomes remains context-dependent. This study assessed the relationship between school feeding programmes, attendance and academic performance in primary schools in Uyui District, Tanzania. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was employed, drawing on questionnaires, interviews, observation and documentary review. The analysed participant sample comprised 385 respondents: 330 pupils, 20 teachers, 20 head teachers, 10 parents and five district education officials, supplemented by school-level documentary and observational records. Academic-performance records covering 2021–2025 showed a marked descriptive difference between schools classified by meal provision: school-year records with meals had an overall mean examination score of 92.42% (SD = 7.94), compared with 39.78% (SD = 25.14) for records without meals. Mean attendance was 92.82% in the feeding category and 58.24% in the non-feeding category, while average enrolment percentages were 86.88% and 37.14%, respectively. Respondents attributed the observed patterns to reduced hunger, improved concentration, greater motivation to attend school and strengthened parental engagement. Nevertheless, implementation challenges included inadequate financing, food-supply constraints, limited trained personnel, storage deficiencies, weak community participation and uneven programme coverage. Observation further showed that only four of ten observed schools achieved participation by all pupils in meals. The findings demonstrate a strong descriptive association between school feeding and educational participation and performance in the sampled schools, but the non-randomised school-level design does not establish causality. Sustainable financing, improved programme coverage, nutritional quality, staff training, transparent management and stronger school–community participation are therefore required if school feeding is to make a durable contribution to primary education in Uyui District.