By King Amoah
The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has indicated that secondary schools across the country stand the risk to be closed down if urgent financial support is not provided to sustain it, especially on the area of feeding operations under the Free Senior High School programme.
At an emergency stakeholders meeting in Accra with the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu that ended in a stalemate, the stakeholders failed to agree on measures to address a worsening food-supply crisis in schools.
The discussions, held at the ministry’s headquarters brought together key stakeholders in education including the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the GETFund.
At the centre of the discussions was the procurement of perishable food items such as vegetables, meat, and eggs which have become difficult to source due to delays in funding.
In an effort to resolve the issue, the Minister proposed that the GETFund should maintain an arrangement that could allow CHASS to independently procure perishable items.
However the parties were unable to reach a consensus.
The deadlock follows a formal petition by CHASS and the Conference of Principals of Technical Institutions (COPTI), who raised concerns over the dwindling supplies from the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the impact of inflation on already constrained school budgets.
With such a development CHASS has warned that without immediate funding to procure essential food supplies, schools would be forced to close down for the interest of the students adding that the outcome could disrupt academic calendar and preparations for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Headteachers have reportedly resorted to use personal funds and relying on credit from local suppliers to ensure that students continue to enjoy meals.
With the stalled negotiations, concerns are growing over the sustainability of the programme’s feeding component which supports more than 1.2 million students across the country.
As to whether this issue would be solved by the Ministry to Normalise food supply challenges confronting the education sector, Ghanaians look forward for government reaction.
