The Ministry of Education has disclosed that all senior high schools in the country have received ample supply of food items.

According to the ministry, reports that there is food shortage in the various senior high schools in the country is untrue. It expressed surprise over “news publication and media discussions” which purported an imminent closure of some Senior High Schools due to shortage of food, with specific references made to some schools in the Volta Region.

“The Ministry wishes to place on record that our checks reveal adequate supplies of food items have been made to the schools in question… Consequently, all Senior High Schools in the country have received an adequate supply of food items.”
Ministry of Education

Contained in a statement signed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Kwasi Kwarteng, it noted that the ministry takes cognisance of recent disruptions within the food supply chain. However, it assured parents and guardians that the ministry has resolved the issues.

“The ministry wishes to assure the public of its commitment and willingness in providing quality and timely supply of food to all Senior High Schools. We entreat the public to disregard such report.”
Ministry of Education

Education ministry’s debt to Buffer Stock Company

In July this year, the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei-Adutwum, confirmed that government owes the National Food Buffer Stock Company an outstanding amount of GHC 340 million.

The government’s indebtedness to the company and other factors occasioned a shortage of food items in some high schools in the country.

Responding to questions in Parliament, Dr Osei-Adutwum stated that the government was working towards clearing the debt and ending the food shortage in Senior High Schools. He noted that the government has paid over GHC327 million to the company this year to ensure food supply to schools.

Dr Osei-Adutwum explained that the regions where schools experienced the crisis then, had seen improvement in terms of supplies and will continue to witness same.

Nonetheless, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, in reaction to the education minister’s statement expressed that he was not convinced by the assurances. He reckoned the shortages as a Finance Ministry issue and as such, the Education Ministry has no solution to offer as far as the shortage of food items in schools is concerned.

Mr Asare highlighted that he will take an assurance from the Ministry of Finance because the issue is absolutely “outside the purview or the jurisdiction” of the Ministry of Education. He iterated that he will take assurances from the Finance Ministry that it will respect the disbursement or the cash flow projections as submitted to it by the Ministry of Education.

The Executive Director of Eduwatch stated that if the issue is not addressed, government will soon be confronted with it when the challenge resurfaces in subsequent months.