The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbornu has blamed the government for the shortage of food in some Senior High Schools.
Mr, Carbonu said the current centralized system that authorises only the National Buffer Stock to distribute food to Senior High Schools has largely contributed to food shortages in various schools.
He believes a decentralization of food distribution to Senior High Schools, will address these challenges.
“Broken walls cannot even be repaired because you have denied the schools of resources and centralized it with Buffer Stock. The prices for Buffer stock are inflated above what is on the market, so the government is unable to pay.”
“The schools have been denied resources. They called us names [when we made suggestions]. [We were accused of] working in the interest of political parties. We were beaten into submission, and we are now reaping the results,” he said on Citi FM and Citi TV’s The Big Issue.
The Conference of Heads of Assisted Schools in the Upper West Region has warned that Senior High Schools in the Upper West Region may soon shut down if the government fails to supply them with adequate foodstuff to feed students.
However the Education Ministry has downplayed concerns being raised about shortages of food items in secondary schools in parts of the country.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Ministry’s PRO, Kwasi Kwarteng, said his ministry has “not had any such official complaint.”
Despite reports indicating that certain schools currently lack key ingredients like bread and oil for meals, Mr. Kwarteng also said reports about shortages could also be considered alerts for the future.
