Food is scarce in SHSs.
This is due to an insufficient supply of food products in
the classrooms. Checks by the Daily Graphic in certain schools in Accra, Cape
Coast, Kumasi, Bolgatanga, and Ho revealed that although some schools had
enough food supply, others were in desperate need.
Parents
said that the scenario had resulted in poor food quality being supplied to
pupils as school administrators attempted to handle the issue with the minimal
tools at their disposal.
However, the Ministry of Education stated that it had not
received any formal complaints from schools citing food shortages and that it
would appreciate it if a list of the impacted schools could be supplied so that
appropriate action could be done.
Students in Cape Coast mourn
Shirley Asiedu-Addo and Edith Mensah of Cape Coast claim
that several students from Mfantsipim School, St. Augustine's College, Adisadel
College, and Ghana National College refused to eat at the dining hall because
the food was insufficient in quantity and quality. "The porridge is very
light and without bread, so I don't go to the dining hall in the morning,"
an Mfantsipim student explained.
"Sometimes the quantity is tiny," observed another
pupil. Rev. Ebenezer Aidoo, the Headmaster of Mfantsipim, stated that the food
situation was severe, but that administration was working within its limits to
ensure that the pupils were nourished.
St Augustine's Headmaster, Henry
Arthur-Gyan, also stated that the school had no choice but to manage the
situation.
"We are aware of the
difficulties, so we make do with what we have." "There isn't much we
can do," he said.According to an anonymous source at Adisadel, supplies
are not as plentiful as they once were.
"We are feeding the students
with what we have," it stated. Ghana National's Headmaster, Joseph Ato
Sarpong, stated that supplies from the Ghana Buffer Stock Company were arriving
late.
"There just isn't enough
food to go around," he explained.
"Form One kids arrived over
a two-month period, and we struggled to feed them." It has been difficult
for the pupils in Forms 2 and 3, but we are making progress. "Management
is in a tough situation," he lamented.
Mr Sarpong emphasized that,
despite efforts to persuade the authorities to act quickly, the school had not
gotten a positive response from the firm that supplied the food products.
SOS SIGNAL
Monister Kwarteng, the Parents
Association (PA) Chairman of Mfantsipim, stated in an SOS audio message to
parents that the situation in the school was not good and that he wishes
parents could visit the school to witness for themselves.
"Our sons are consuming koko
without milk and bread," he explained, adding, "the food they are
eating is too awful."
He claimed to have witnessed the
headmaster utilizing his own funds to purchase a few bottles of oil.
"Dear parents, these are our
lads, yet the parent’s association has less than GH1,000 in its coffers."
"What good is this?" He questioned.
Mr Kwarteng stated that the
situation was exceedingly severe and that anyone who could give supplies like
as sacks of rice, flour, and oil should do so to assist in addressing the
issue.
THERE IS NO BREAD.
According to Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Rev. Fr Stephen Owusu Sekyere, most schools in the region were facing an inadequate supply of food items, with vegetables, palm oil, sugar, and flour being the major challenges.
According to Rev. Fr Sekyere, who
is also the Headmaster of the Opoku Ware School (OWASS), "children come to
the dining hall with their own sugar at times." But we've been making do
with what we have, and when it's finished, we'll wait for the supplier."
"Because I don't want the
students to demonstrate during my tenure," he explained, "I sometimes
have to dip into my wallet to buy some of the products from the open market
simply to assure that the kids are okay."
When the supply arrived, he
stated, "we get roughly five gallons of oil, which does not last two weeks
for a student population of over 3,000."
This is even for schools in the
city; picture what those in the suburbs are going through," he continued.
BOLGATANGA OFFICIALS REFUSE
TO COMMENT.
Gilbert Mawuli Agbey writes from
Bolgatanga that school administrators in the Upper East Regional capital
declined to comment on the problem of food supply, citing a lack of capability.
In a phone interview, the Kongo
SHS Headmistress, Gifty Ayamba, stated, "I cannot comment to you on the
food issue; the appropriate person to speak to on this is the district director
of the Ghana Education Service."
During a visit to the Bolgatanga
Girls' SHS (BOGISS) and the Bolgatanga SHS (BIG BOSS) last Wednesday to assess
the impact of the teacher unions' strike, Upper East Regional Minister Stephen
Yakubu appealed to parents nearby to support their children with food in the aftermath
of the strike, as school authorities devised alternative ways to cook for
boarding students.
Alberto Mario Noretti writes from
Ho that the General Manager of the E.P. Educational Unit, Marian Jemima Adzroe,
stated that culinary personnel were on duty in all of the unit's schools.
ACCRA ACADEMY IS PLEASED.
Leticia Boadu, the Domestic Chief
Bursar of Accra Academy, stated that there was no scarcity of food supplies at
the school. She said that, despite the dramatic rise in food prices, the
government was consistent in allocating monies for student nutrition.
"The government provides us
with funds. It generally allocates for four weeks, so we work within that time
frame before another one arrives.
"So, we don't have an issue
at Accra Academy." "We still follow the menu, and the pupils are
adequately nourished," she remarked.
She also stated that, despite the
ongoing strike, the school's culinary staff was remained dedicated to
delivering nutritious food to pupils.
"We will continue to feed
them because we are parents and we cannot stand by and watch these youngsters
go hungry," she continued.
Several Accra Academy pupils who
spoke with the reporter about feeding reported no changes in the quality or
amount of their meals.
NO COMPLAINTS, ACCORDING TO THE MINISTRY.
In response, Kwasi Kwarteng, Head
of Public Relations at the Government of Education, informed the Daily Graphic
that the ministry has received no official complaints concerning food shortages
from schools thus far.
He stated that he would
appreciate it if the list of schools encountering the difficulty was submitted
to the ministry so that appropriate action could be done. When Mfantsipim
School was mentioned as an example, he stated that it will be brought to the
ministry's notice for the appropriate measures.
Mr Kwarteng stated that the
government was in talks with various banks to pay suppliers to alleviate the
payment delay.
When asked about the issue of bad
food quality, he stated that it may be subjective.
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