School Feeding Plan and its Impact on Education Quality in Tunja, Boyacá

Abstract

This article takes an interpretative and critical approach to the guidelines of the Ministry of National Education (MNE) by addressing malnutrition as a global, regional, and local problem that affects education quality. A functional analysis of the School Feeding Plan (SFP) is also provided through an investigation performed at a local level, starting on the year the program was first implemented in the city of Tunja until 2021. Methodologically, the history of the SFP was reviewed in order to understand its impact on the current educational reality, the student´s needs, and the mitigation of school dropout in public secondary education institutions. This article refers to precepts and regulations that are essential for reflecting on the SFP as a state strategy and determining its impact on students´ academic performance. The results show a diagnosis of the SFP in Tunja, which underlies the need to create social awareness about the importance of good nutrition as a fundamental right to which children, adolescents, and young people are entitled and that must be provided by educational institutions.