Provide Your Wards Enough Food Supply; CHASS to Parents

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Senior High Schools (CHASS) has sounded an alarm over food supply in second-cycle institutions, urging parents to provide enough food items for their wards.

These food items, it said would augment the little supply at hand for the schools to provide for the students.

In a statement, the National Secretary of CHASS, Primus Baro, said in parts of the country, some schools lacked food supplies like oil and maize.

“I encourage parents, and I have already advised my PTA to this effect, to let their children bring food like gari, shito, and sugar to supplement whatever the school provides. I urge parents across the country, as the food situation has still not improved in the past two and three years, and it has worsened at this particular time,” he said.

“Food supplies are not reaching the schools. In places like the Upper West, Upper East, and Northern regions, apart from rice, the schools have no stable food supplies. Oil is completely unavailable. For example, in my school, I currently don’t have a single drop of oil, so my matron has been using margarine to replace oil for cooking. I don’t have maize or beans—only rice and some gari.”

CHASS had earlier requested the Ministry of Education delayed the reopening of schools citing the government’s debt to schools.

In a letter to the Minister for Education, the CHASS acknowledged a recent release of funds but stated that it was inadequate to cover all recurrent monies owed schools; arrears for perishable items; funds for single-track and day students; distribution of foods and utility bills.

These bills, it noted, remain critical to the reopening and smooth functioning of second-cycle institutions on January 3 and therefore called for their disbursement on time or the extension of the vacation.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini