Evaluation of Culinary Skills of Female Secondary School Students in Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study looked into the culinary skills, nutritional knowledge, and food hygiene awareness of female secondary school students in Delta State, Nigeria, with a focus on disparities between urban and rural settings. A mixed-method approach was utilized, including surveys, interviews, and practical skills assessments. This is a descriptive survey research study that assesses the cooking skills of 64 selected female students from Delta State, Nigeria. The outcomes revealed that a great gap between urban and rural students' culinary competencies and related knowledge exists. The urban students were found to be more capable of advanced cooking techniques, nutrition understanding, and handling food safely due to better availability of resources, modern facilities, and the expertise of teachers. In contrast, rural students lacked all the facilities, training materials, and exposure to diverse skills for skill acquisition to take place. The study identified bottlenecks in the form of outdated curricula, gender stereotyping, and a lack of adequate time available for practical learning in both city and village schools. These findings stress the need for further investments in vocational education infrastructure at rural levels and specifically targeted nutrition and hygiene education programs. Teacher training programs, curriculum renewal, and assurance of gender equity in culinary education are the recommendations from this study. These facts form a basis on which policymakers and educators can improve culinary and nutritional education in Nigeria by giving students important life skills and creating equal opportunities for personal and professional fulfilment.