The Pediatric Society of Ghana (PSG) has called on the government to increase funding for the school feeding program, acknowledging the government’s efforts to address malnutrition in the country.
The Pediatric Society of Ghana (PGS) stated that despite the government’s commendable efforts, data shows that the school feeding program has not improved the nutrition of children in the country. The PSG argued that increased funding would ensure that children receive adequate nourishment.
The Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP) under the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) aims to increase food security and reduce hunger, poverty, and malnutrition following the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The main objective of the program is to increase school enrollment and retention rates of students. The Ghana School Feeding Program has failed to meet its aims due to a recent reduction in the quality and quantity of food served to school children.
Mr. Maxwell Lukutor, the Parliamentary Candidate for the National Democratic Congress in the South Tongu constituency, has expressed concern about the poor state of the school feeding program.
According to him, the government’s allocation for the feeding program is insufficient. He further added that food served to schoolchildren is of low quality and lacks proper nutrition.
Mr. Maxwell Lukutor revealed that problems with school feeding have extended from primary schools to secondary schools. He stated that the implementation of the School Feeding Program is being affected by the cost of the Free SHS.
He opined that extending the feeding program to secondary school students who are day students, as part of the Free SHS project, is impractical and causes a financial burden to the state.
“We have seen the kind of food being fed our secondary school lads. Even at that level, it becomes critical. It is at this stage that they need good food to be able to build their strength into adulthood and to be able to take responsibility for the future”
Mr. Maxwell Lukutor
The Need to Review the Free SHS Policy
He suggested that the School Feeding Program needs to be reviewed. He said the Free SHS, the government’s flagship project, contributes to the current issues with the program. He therefore called for a review of the Free SHS program as well.
The Parliamentary Candidate suggested that the policy should be reassessed to better serve the needs of Ghanaians, as there are individuals who have the financial means to send their children to school.
He recommended that the program should be executed in a way that only individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds can take advantage of it.
The current government of Ghana introduced the Free SHS in 2017, to increase enrollment at the secondary school level and improve the country’s literacy rate.
The program has been successful in achieving its goals as school enrollment has increased from 800,000 to 1.4 million students since 2017, representing a percentage increase of about 75% according to government reports.
Subsequently, Mr. Maxwell Lukutor recommended that secondary schools should return to traditional methods of cultivating food for their students. He explained that this would not only help ensure food security within schools but also address the issue of malnutrition.
The statement was made by the Parliamentary Candidate in response to a communique released by the Pediatric Society of Ghana (PSG). The communique, signed by the association’s President, Dr. (Med) Hilda Mantebea Boye, and the General Secretary, Dr. (Med) Gabrielle Obeng-Koranteng, stated that despite the government’s efforts to address malnutrition in young school children, the ratio of malnourished children in Ghana is high.
To conclude, both the School Feeding and the Free Senior High School programs in Ghana have been facing public scrutiny regarding their effectiveness in improving education.
The food provided under the GSFP is of poor quality, which does not encourage attendance as schoolchildren are barely nourished enough to stay in school.
Similarly, the Free SHS program lacks proper education, and parents have to pay extra for private lessons for their wards, which defeats the purpose of the program.
READ ALSO: PAC Bemoans Financial Irregularities Among Public Tertiary Institutions
