The Conference of Heads of Assisted Senior High Schools (CHASS) has appealed to parents and guardians to help address the ongoing feeding challenges in senior high schools by providing food items for their wards.
This plea follows unresolved financial issues, including the government’s failure to pay for perishable food items supplied to schools last year. CHASS had earlier urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to delay the reopening of schools until these issues were resolved. However, the GES rejected their request, leading to the reopening of schools five days ago.
Speaking to JoyNews, the National Secretary of CHASS, Primus Baro, described the situation in schools as dire, with many institutions resorting to food rationing. He encouraged parents to support the schools by sending food supplies with their children.
“I encourage parents—and I have already advised my PTA—to let their children bring food items like gari, shitor, and sugar to supplement whatever the school provides. The food situation has not improved over the past two or three years, and it has worsened significantly now,” he said during an interview on JoyNews’ Newsdesk on Wednesday, January 8.
Baro highlighted that schools in northern Ghana are particularly affected.
“Food supplies are not reaching the schools. In the Upper West, Upper East, and Northern regions, apart from rice, schools lack stable food supplies. There’s no oil available. For instance, in my school, we’ve had to substitute margarine for oil because we don’t have a single drop of oil. We also lack maize and beans—there’s only rice and some gari,” he lamented.
He added, “We are still relying on the old practice of allowing students to bring food from home. That’s the only reason we allowed them to return to school. Otherwise, the situation remains far from ideal.”
The Free Senior High School (SHS) programme, introduced under the Nana Akufo-Addo administration, has faced significant challenges, including insufficient classroom and dormitory facilities, inadequate food supplies, and strained finances.
Critics argue that while the programme has increased access to senior high education, it has not necessarily improved its quality. However, President John Mahama, during his campaign, pledged to revamp the programme rather than abolish it, promising improvements in infrastructure, logistics, and management.
Free SHS: Let your wards come to school with food – CHASS tells parents#JoyNews pic.twitter.com/0utqN4CTu5
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) January 8, 2025
