Programmes Manager at the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), Theodora Williams Anti, has called for the expansion of the School Feeding Programme to the JHS level in schools across the regions to have a wider coverage. She stated that the expansion of the programme to benefit more pupils in Ghana is crucial.
Theodora Anti explained that since the inception of the programme in 2005, successive governments have continued to expand the coverage of the initiative, offering many poor learners the opportunity to benefit from the intervention. However, she said, only 30 per cent coverage has been achieved out of the about 30,112 public primary schools and kindergartens combined.
“Coupled with calls to expand coverage, government has shown commitment to include more schools under the programme but the dilemma is whether to continue with the current model where primary schools are selected from deprived communities and placed on the programme or adopt a new model; which is to expand coverage to include Junior High Schools (JHS)”.
Theodora Anti
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Touching on why the expansion to the JHS level is crucial, Theodora Anti indicated that the last time government gave approval to expand the programme was in July 2016 and it targeted 3 million school children. However, very little is known about progress on this in the public domain.
“Three (3) months ago, FOSDA commissioned a study into the GSFP and progressive effects at the JHS level. Our findings suggest that, the absence of the GSFP at the JHS level is equally accounting for dropout rates in the country. Data from the Ministry of Education on completion rate in 2016 to 2019 averaged 100.1% at both national and sub-national levels for primary schools. Within the same time period, average completion rate for JHS was 76.8% at national and 63% at the sub-national levels. This shows a completion gap of 23% and 37% for JHS at the national and sub-national levels respectively”.
Theodora Anti
Engagement shows expansion is needed
Theodora Anti added that to support these study findings, FOSDA engaged with beneficiaries and some duty bearers of the GSFP in selected districts and through that it came up again that the call for the expansion to the JHS level was paramount.
She posited that as an organization with a mission to champion human security, they have concluded that the path to consolidate the gains on GSFP is the option to expand it to the JHS level but with emphasis in poor and deprived communities.
“For the poor and deprived communities in those districts that have performed poorly, on the district league table since 2014 as well as the those ranked low on Ghana’s poverty profile and maps, the conscious efforts must be taken to bridge the inequality gaps in the GSFP”.
Theodora Anti
She therefore urged the public to join the call on government to extend the GSFP to the JHS, so that together FOSDA achieves the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) overarching principle of leaving no one behind.
