Ho, July 13, GNA – The Educational Workers Connect (EWC), an educational policy think-tank, has called on government to find permanent solution to food shortage at second cycle institutions to ensure students are properly fed and well catered for.
EWC noted that the terrible nature of the food shortage situation called for an urgent and proactive response from the government and Ghana Education Service (GES).
Mr Daniel Yao Agbezudor, Executive Secretary, EWC in a statement on the situation noted that the situation was making it practically impossible for Heads of the Schools to continue feeding the students in the Senior High Schools (SHSs).
The Statement cited the press statement released from the Conference of Heads of Assisted Senior High Schools (CHASS) in the Upper West Region while lamenting food shortage in the entire region.
“This unfortunate situation is making it practically impossible for the Heads to continue feeding the students in the senior high schools in that part of the country. We consider the situation as painted by CHASS as very dire and does not augur well for the sustenance and proper upkeep of our dear brothers and sisters in those schools.”
The Statement noted that although the government “keeps denying the obvious”, they considered the current feeding challenges as unacceptable, risky, troubling, and unfortunate.
It said sources close to the EWC revealed very damning developments regarding feeding of students which was not only limited to the Upper West Region alone because there were so many SHSs across the country that were battling with feeding challenges.
“This situation is obviously due to either shortage of foodstuffs, late arrival of the foodstuffs to the schools or considerable reduction in the quantity of the food served the students.”
The Statement said due to the fear of intimidation, harassment, victimisation and other forms of unjustifiable punishments that Heads may face by the GES and the government, the Heads chose to remain quiet while the students suffer the consequences.
It noted that the Heads had resorted to feeding students with either the same meal for days using their own meagre resources to buy food items for the students or cut down considerably, the quantity of meal provided for the students.
The Statement said students were in turn deprived of enjoying a balanced meal which may affect their well-being and ability to study well.
It said it was heart-breaking that the food shortage situation had increased at a time the final year students were preparing to write their final West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) beginning in August.
The Statement called on government to call for a stakeholders’ discussion on the way forward as far as the feeding situation is concerned and allow the various Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs) to assist by providing some of the foodstuffs to the schools while government raised against time to supply foods to the affected schools to avoid a shutdown of the affected schools.
GNA