Mahama Promises To Hand Over School Feeding To CHASS

The presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama says he will delegate the responsibility of feeding Senior High School (SHS) students to the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) when re-elected President.

At a rally in Navrongo in the Upper East Region, he said the responsibility which has been awarded to suppliers by the current government will be reverted to head teachers upon his re-election.

This decision follows the 61st National Annual Conference of CHASS on October 11, during which the President of CHASS, Reverend Steven Owusu Sekyere, reiterated their long standing request for the responsibility to be reverted back to them.

“CHASS also passionately wishes to reiterate our plea to management to allow the various schools to procure the food items to feed the students. This has been our unblemished request for years, and it is due to the way some suppliers sometimes disappoint us in supplying some food items on time,” he said adding that their request if heeded will reduce the logistical and operational challenges that come with it.

“We are urging management to ensure a timely release of the entire funding for schools to make our work less stressful, and monies allocated for all activities must be increased significantly to meet the current market price of goods and services,” he said

Preying on the request at his rally, the former President who has vowed to review the Free Senior High School said a future NDC government will grant the wish of the Conference.

“The acquisition and procurement of foods must be the responsibility of the headmasters and so the feeding grants must be given to the headmasters, and they will procure the food from the Buffer Stock Company at a good price. So the NDC is going to restore the responsibility of the feeding of the students to the headmasters and their bursars,” he is quoted to have said.

“I know a headmaster who is a friend, and he told me that there are times they do not receive their food from the Buffer Stock, and so he has to take money out of his pocket or go and borrow money to be able to feed the students. So we are going to give the headmasters the feeding grants so that they can give the students quality food,” the flagbearer added.

He further pledged to improve the quality of food for students.

“We will improve the quality of food in our schools. The quality of foods in our schools have deteriorated and if you ask any of the students, they will tell you. This is because the NPP has centralized the acquisition of foodstuff for the schools.”

Academic activities has been interrupted at some points due to shortages of food items in SHS across the country.

In January, a source from Nyinahin Catholic Senior High School (SHS) at Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region told opemsuo.com students had been told they will be fed once a day by school authorities.

This announcement was made by the Headmaster of the school a few days after the second cycle schools resumed from the Christmas Break. According to the source, the students were told they would be fed once a day, that is, in the evening.

The headmaster of Nyinahin SHS is said to have further implored the students to bear with the development which he said was beyond the school’s control.

The shortage was confirmed by the President of CHASS later.