By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, June 9, GNA – The Northern Network for Education Development (NNED), a network of Ghanaian Civil Society Organisations, has called on the government to increase the feeding grant per child for basic schools under the School Feeding Programme.
It argued that the government’s proposed GH₵1.20 was not good enough for each child under the programme and was woefully inadequate to provide the quantity and quality of food desired, considering the economic difficulties in the country which had led to crease in prices of items including foodstuffs.
It said reviewing the programme and increasing the grant per child would ensure that quality food was prepared for the children while increasing the quantity of food served to promote satisfaction and improve academic work.
Members of the Network made the call through the Ghana News Agency after a familiarization tour to some selected basic schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality and the Talensi District in the Upper East Region.
The tour, which took them to Akantome primary and Dapoore primary in the Bolgatanga Municipality and Talensi District respectively was to interact with authorities of the schools and in particularly find out the situation in the schools with regards to the school feeding programme.
Mr Samuel Ofori Boakye, the programmes Manager, Link Community Development, one of the CSOs of the NNED, explained that during the visit to the schools, it discovered although, many caterers across the country were on strike; caterers in those schools were present and had been cooking since schools reopened.
He, however, disclosed that the authorities in the schools complained that the food served the pupils was of poor quality and the quantity had also been small.
He said, “the government will have to take a second look at the school feeding programme, looking at the numbers involved, and expand the sources to rope in other donors to ensure that the children are given quality meals and good quantity that they need.
“At the end of the day, we should be looking at not the mere fact that we are feeding the children, but we are also looking at it in terms of nutritious nature of the food so that when the children take the food, it does not provide any opportunity whereby there would be ill health.”
The government had proposed to increase the grant per child under the school feeding programme from 97 pesewas to GH₵1.20 but the caterers had opposed the idea, indicating that it would not help prepare nutritious food for the children.
They have since proposed GH₵3.50 per meal for each child, but the government is adamant resulting in many of the caterers demanding the payment of their arrears and increasing of the feeding grant.
Mr Boakye was accompanied by Mr Raymond Ayinne, the External Affairs Manager, AfriKids Ghana, one of the CSOs of NNED.
GNA