The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of school management teams about their role to implement the national school nutrition programme in the Harry Gwala District in KwaZulu-Natal. This article is extracted from a Ph.D. thesisin which a qualitative research design with a sample of school managers in the form Principals and Head of Department (School Departmental Heads), who participate in the school nutrition programme.Data was collected through individual interviews and document analysis. The study findings highlighted that school managers perceived their role to check food stuff delivered by service providers as the key to ensure smooth running of the school nutrition programme, the findings also emphasis that, school managers perceived as their role to ensure that all learners at school benefit form the programme. The findings also heighted that school managers were demotivated by unavailability of feeding equipment in their role to manage the school nutrition programme. The study also assert that school managers had a perception that smooth running of the school nutrition programme depends on their proper management and administration of the programme. The study also find that school managers perceived safety and security on school nutrition programme as the most challenging aspect on their management. It was also discovered that the duty to that Volunteer Food Handlers are paid on time is also perceived as a barrier to programme implementation. School managers have a perception that food for learners should be prepared and served under hygienic conditions even if the infrastructure if poorly developed. This study has a meaningful contribution to the entire management of national school nutrition programme, and also fill the gap how school managers perceive their role in the implementation of school nutrition programme.

Keywords: school management teams, school nutrition programme, volunteer food handlers, department of basic education, management, programme implementation