The government has assured parents and students that adequate funding has been secured to guarantee an uninterrupted food supply in senior high schools under the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu said the government has reviewed the implementation of the policy and introduced measures to address persistent challenges that previously affected student feeding in some schools.
According to him, the new interventions are aimed at preventing disruptions to academic work caused by food shortages, which in the past forced some schools to send students home before the end of the term.
Government Responds to Past Feeding Challenges
Speaking during the commissioning of the National Teaching Council’s regional office complex in Tamale, the Education Minister admitted that inadequate food supply had become a major concern under the Free SHS programme over the years.
He explained that the government’s assessment of the policy identified feeding difficulties as one of the critical issues affecting effective teaching and learning in secondary schools.
“Having examined the feeding of Free Senior High School students, we realised that there were many times that schools had to be closed down or, in the course of the academic year, students had to be asked to go home because there was inadequate food. That is now a thing of the past,” he stated.
GETFund to Support Free SHS Financing
The minister further disclosed that the government has strengthened financing arrangements for the programme through the Ghana Education Trust Fund to ensure sustainable funding for Free SHS.
He stressed that sufficient resources have been allocated to support student feeding and other operational needs across senior high schools nationwide.
“There are adequate resources and adequate funding from GETFund to finance Free Senior High School,” he assured.
Focus on Stability in Secondary Education
The assurance comes amid growing public concern over recurring reports of food shortages in some schools and the broader sustainability of the Free SHS programme.
Government officials maintain that the latest measures are intended to improve stability within the education sector and ensure students remain in school without interruptions linked to feeding challenges.
The Free SHS policy remains one of Ghana’s flagship social intervention programmes, providing tuition-free secondary education to thousands of students across the country.
By: Janice Opoku-Agyemang
