The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, in collaboration with National Orientation Agency (NOA), is to begin biometric capturing of pupils across 1,352 public schools in Adamawa.

Malam Salisu Yakubu, Director of NOA in Adamawa, made the disclosure in an interview on Monday, in Yola.

He said that the exercise would begin with the enumeration of all the schools, across the state’s 21 local government areas covered by the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

Yakubu said no fewer than 2,259 food vendors of all the schools would also be verified during the exercise.

According to the director, the enumeration process would involve the physical distribution of forms to all schools, to be filled by headteachers, caregivers, parents, food vendors and pupils in primary one to three.

“There is also going to be the biometric capturing of pupils in schools and the validation of data.

“It is indeed imperative to know that a national database of the beneficiaries will enhance future policy-making and planning, for effective service delivery and monitoring of the entire programme,” he said.

He said that currently, their officers were on the field sensitising people on the success of the exercise that would commence any moment.

Yakubu noted that the Federal Government came up with the nationwide exercise, to provide a database of all beneficiaries, among other things, and that all relevant stakeholders should work towards the success of the exercise.