Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Deputy Minister of Education, visited several schools in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday, September 2, 2021, to check claims of food shortages in some Senior High Schools in the nation.
The Deputy Minister said that the administrators at the schools he visited had adequate food on hand.
“I went to O’Reilly Senior High School and ended with Achimota Senior High. We met the housemaster at O’Reilly, we even visited their storerooms and there were stocks. We were told that they had enough and will inform us when they run out of food.”
”I then visited Tema Senior High School, they had been served very nutritious meals. I asked some students whether it was so because they were aware I was coming over, and they said that that was what they are mostly served with.”
“Indeed, the headmaster of the school also debunked the assertion that there is a shortage of food in the school. I asked to see the stores and I confirmed that for myself. I then headed to the Achimota Senior High School, the Headmistress for instance was shocked to hear that the school’s name was mentioned as part of schools experiencing a shortage of food. Indeed pictures I took from the various storerooms of the schools attest to the fact that there is nothing like that.”
He guaranteed that his description of the scenario at the schools he visited was completely accurate.
“It will be rather unfortunate that I will go and see empty stores and report otherwise. These are real pictures of what I saw on the ground. The students are writing their final examinations and if for nothing at all we will not want to compromise on the success of their examinations.”
“We won’t go and see them struggling and report otherwise, just to prove a point.”
He said that he would “continue to watch carefully and will ensure that we react quickly if anything like that comes up.”
“We will keep our eyes on the schools too, and will ensure that we create the right environment for quality teaching and learning,” he added.
Parents, former students, and several instructors have expressed concern about food scarcity.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers, for example, raised an alarm and gave the government an ultimatum to address the issue.
However, the government and authorities have subsequently come out to dismiss the allegations.
The Ministry of Education disputed the shortfall, claiming that their inspections revealed that schools had sufficient food.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the Ministry of Education‘s Public Relations Officer, said that he “was even with the PRO of GES when she contacted a headteacher of one of the schools who verified that it is not true.” According to our checks, the situation is not completely as it appears.”
The Ghana Education Service has also said that inquiries into allegations of food shortages have started.
Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, Director-General of GES, also said that the allegations were overblown.
“As far as our records go, there is nothing like that. We have officially not received complaints from any of the schools over the issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, visited the Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School (PRESEC) in Legon after allegations that the school was one among the high schools reportedly experiencing food shortages, said that the school’s students and administration claimed otherwise.
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