SHSs in the North yet to receive school feeding grant

Bolgatanga Sept 26, GNA - Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions have for this academic year not yet received school feeding grants, which is affecting academic work in these areas.

This was revealed when the Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA), a civil society organization, working to promote social equality and justice, met with the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo, at Bolgatanga.

Mr. Bismark Ayorogo, President of NORPRA, appealed to the Minister to intervene in the matter to help solve the problem. He claimed that it had been established that most of the heads of the intuitions had asked students to pay school fees so that it could be used to finance their feeding.

President of NORPRA said, consequently, students who could not pay their school fees were at home pending the release of the grants. Mr. Ayorogo urged the Minister to ensure that the problem was solved to enable the students return to school and expressed worry that the situation had become a ritual that needed to be addressed once and for all.

Mr. Woyongo said most of the schools owed food contractors, who usually supplied food stuffs to the schools, and cited that Bolgatanga Technical School was indebted to food contractors up to three million Ghana cedis.

The Minister said that he had directed District Directors of Education to investigate the matter and find solution to the problem adding that because most of the schools were in debt, food contractors were not interested in selling food items to them on credit. He asked parents to pay their children's school fees regularly and expressed regret that instead of investing in the education of their children, some parents spent on alcoholic beverages. Mr Woyongo said that he would liaise with colleague Ministers in the Northern and Upper West Regions to present a special case on the situation to Government since the areas were most deprived. He stressed the need for Government to institute a special scholarship scheme for students in the North. Mr Woyongo noted that education was a major tool that could help bridge the development gap between the Northern and the Southern parts of Ghana.