Accra, Aug 3, GNA - Government has formed an inter-ministerial committee to review the structures and operations of the School Feeding Programme to involve local communities.
The initiative is to focus and target those in the communities who actually need the assistance.
Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education, was speaking at a three-day National Education Sector Annual Review (NESAR) 2010 for stakeholders in education on the theme: "Revitalising Education for a Better Ghana" in Accra on Tuesday.
He said that over 300 basic schools would benefit from the provision of classrooms to relieve students and teachers of the burden of having classes under trees.
Mr Tettey-Enyo said that in the next few weeks the Ministry would be addressing the school shift system in schools in deprived areas within the Metropolitan and Municipal areas.
He said that other interventions including the provision of school uniforms and exercise books would continue from next academic year with the budget targeted at communities who needed it.
Mr Tetteh-Enyo said over 500 six-unit classroom blocks were being constructed in some Senior High Schools (SHS) and technical institutions in the country and emphasised that 300 of the projects begun this year.
He said with this, not all classroom blocks would be ready in September to kick start the academic year.
Mr Tetteh-Enyo said "This year, apart from the GETFund government is committing considerable amount of funds to providing infrastructure for SHS with budgetary allocation and would continue in future," he assured.
He said that the Ministry would absorb 12 missions and SHS into the public system to increase the number of public supported SHS from the current 498 to 510 as well as the absorption of nine technical institutions.
He pointed out that Ghana Education Service would expand the technical department of 20 Senior High Technical Schools to enable them to admit more students for technical education.
"With government's commitment to increase access to SHS education for the underserved, 10 new SHS have been established in different parts of the country with focus on the underserved three northern regions" he said.
Mr Tettey-Enyo said that new provisions were being made in the Students' Loan Trust Law, currently before Parliament to develop credible means of assessing the levels of objective needs of students to enable the Trust provide more funds to those who actually needed assistance.
He tasked participants to come up with strategies for targeting all education delivery programmes to enhance opportunities for the underserved
