Influence of Third-Party Monitoring Strategies on the service delivery of Home-Grown School Feeding Programme. A case of Nassarawa Local Government Area, Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the third-party monitoring strategies influencing the service delivery of the home-grown school feeding programme in Nassarawa, Local Government Area of Kano State. The objectives of the study were to examine the influence of third-party monitors selection on service delivery of the home-grown school feeding programme; establish the extent to which monitoring manual framework influence service delivery of the home-grown school feeding; determine the influence of Monitoring and Evaluation capacity building on service delivery of the home-grown school feeding programme and assess the influence of funding for Third-Party Monitors on the service delivery of the home-grown school feeding programme. This study adopted descriptive survey research design and targeted 286 respondents and a sample size of 211 respondents of the target population was considered. Stratified sampling technique method was used for collecting data from the third-party monitors, while simple random sampling was adopted in selecting schools for head teachers’ interviews schedule. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interview guide which provided a total of 149 responses A pilot study was conducted to pre-test the validity and reliability of instruments for data collection. The data was analysed using SPSS. This study showed that majority of the respondents, 67.8% agreed that community trust in your organization is the most important variable when selecting third party monitors. The findings also showed that majority of the respondents 65.7% believed that appropriate data collection method sub variable of the monitoring manual framework influenced service delivery of the home-grown school feeding programme the most. The results further showed that having a good and holistic view of the school feeding programme is very critical for monitoring and evaluation capacity building to influence service delivery according to 59.1% of the respondents. The study also showed that according to 41.6% of the respondents, the amount of the funds for M&E activities is the most important sub variable of funding for the third-party monitors. It was evident from the study that third-party monitor selection processes and development of monitoring and evaluation framework require detailed planning to guarantee improved service delivery of school feeding programme. The study recommends active participation of third-party monitors in development of framework and data collection tools, and most importantly using the appropriate data collection method. The study further established that continuous monitoring and evaluation capacity building for monitors will enable them to understand the goal and objectives of the home-grown school feeding programme better. There is also the need to allocate adequate funding for third-party monitors and ensure no delay in disbursement of funds for monitoring activities. The study highlighted areas that need further research to include influence of ICT in monitoring school feeding programme and adoption of various funding models for third-party monitoring processes.