Felix Kwakye Ofosu, acting spokesperson for President John Dramani Mahama, has assured that the government is taking proactive steps to prevent future food shortages under the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.
His statement follows the recent release of GHS200 million to address shortfalls in school feeding, a challenge that had persisted due to poor planning and implementation by the previous administration.
Speaking in a media interview on Sunday, February 2, Kwakye Ofosu criticized the former government for reopening schools without ensuring adequate food supplies. He noted that when headmasters and other stakeholders in the education sector requested a postponement of the reopening date to allow for proper arrangements, their appeal was ignored, leading to food shortages in schools.
“Beyond that, GHS200 million was released about a week or a week and a half ago to address the shortfalls in feeding. Again, due to poor planning and implementation of the education policy, schools were set to reopen without food supplies for students,” he stated.
Upon assuming office, President Mahama took swift action to rectify the situation. “Within days, he directed that food be dispatched to schools, and an additional GHS200 million was allocated through the Ghana Education Service to ensure that students had enough to eat,” Kwakye Ofosu explained.
He assured that moving forward, the government will implement robust measures to ensure a stable food supply for students under the Free SHS programme.
“So for now, the issue has been addressed, and in the future, we will put in place the necessary systems to guarantee that students always have enough food,” he emphasized.
