Free SHS: 'If you are feeding 1.4 million students a day, there will definitely be challenges' - Education Minister

Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education has revealed that the government, through the Free Senior High School policy, feeds a total of one million and four hundred thousand school children every day.

According to the minister, the children are fed three times daily, which includes, breakfast, lunch and supper.

In an exclusive interview on Peace FM’s 'Kokrokoo' morning show with Kwami Sefa Kayi, Dr. Adutwum admitted that there are numerous challenges with feeding in schools across Ghana but the situation is not as dire as reported within the media space.

"If you are feeding 1.4 million students a day, there will definitely be challenges. I will not sit here as a Minister of Education and say that there are no challenges. The students we are feeding are many," Dr. Adutwum said.

However, he was quick to add that, there is always a quick response by his outfit each time a case of shortage of food is reported.

According to him, the government does not expect the students to lose interest in going to school because of hunger. That was the reason for adding feeding to the educational policy.

He acknowledged the great job done by the Buffer Stock but added that, the Ghana Commodity Exchange has been helpful with the provision of food anytime the Buffer Stock runs out of stock.

Speaking further, he mentioned that some heads of schools have been going to the aid of their sister schools anytime there is food crisis because, they have the welfare of the students at heart.

"I have been a headmaster before and I am aware of how daunting of a task it is to be a headmaster. However, some headmasters are more proactive than others.

"Some will call me even before their foods run out and the ministry has always been available to restock their stores with food items. The ministry do this so that the headmasters can ensure proper supervision of teaching and learning across the schools," he added.