Vice president and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) says he will engage the cabinet on Thursday, June 6, 2024, to consider deploying the services of Parent-teacher associations (PTAs) to supervise the distribution of food under the free Senior High School programme.
He was responding to a question by one of the clergies about the quality of food served to the students and some school authorities stealing food in some Senior High Schools.
“If they get five bags, they may declare one bag. If nobody is looking. And so, this is a brilliant, really, suggestion. So, tomorrow I’ll be in Cabinet with the Education Minister and this is one of the first things I’m going to tell him that we are going to have to do. This makes a lot of sense,” he said.
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The Vice President added that there should be an expansion in food production to solve the food insecurity problems in the country.
“Going forward, this is why I’m focusing on a few areas. First of all, I think agriculture and the expansion in food production will bring down food prices so that the hunger that we feel will come down. So Agric becomes very important in bringing down food prices,” Bawumia said.
Senior high schools in Ghana under the Free SHS program are facing severe food shortages.
Reports show that many schools struggle to provide adequate meals, leading to reduced meal quantities and quality. Delays in government funding and payments to suppliers are causing schools to operate on credit. Parents are now forced to send extra money weekly to support their children.
Inadequate storage facilities amidst some school authorities stealing food stuff worsens the problem.