Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum says government has added the Ghana Commodity Exchange to the National Food Buffer Stock Company in a joint partnership arrangement to address the challenge of food shortage in Senior High Schools across the country.
The issue of availability of food items at various public Senior High Schools in Ghana became topical in recent times following concerns raised by some students and heads of schools that they were experiencing food shortages.
The Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum who has been visiting schools in the Ashanti Region with the Director General of the Ghana Education Service and a number of heads of agencies under the Education Ministry says measures have been put in place to properly tackle the issue.
Speaking to Citi News after visiting a distribution centre at Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum expressed excitement with the availability of food items in the schools visited.
He thus assured that there is enough food to be supplied to various schools.
“We are happy to note that they have food in their storage. Okess also serves as a distribution centre for Schools in the Ashanti Region especially schools in Kumasi. So we went to look at the distribution centre and maize is there, mackerel is there, flour, sugar, rice and all the items that they need in schools, and I am so happy that the effort of the president is paying off. The challenges of the past year brought about a new innovation of adding the commodity exchange to buffer stock so that in a joint partnership, they can serve our schools”.
The National Coordinator of the Free SHS Programme, William Dankwa says his outfit is taking proactive measures to promptly supply schools that run out of food items.
“Periodically, food items are being delivered to Schools. So, at any point in time, these distribution centres are filled. We have about 54 of these distribution centres across the country that are all filled with food items”.
The Education Ministry’s tour of the region saw the team visiting basic, second cycle and tertiary institutions in the region to motivate students and listen to the concerns of the respective schools.