The Minister of Education, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, has cautioned senior high school heads that the government will not hesitate to abolish the decentralized feeding policy if students continue to receive inadequate meals. He delivered this warning during the inauguration of the new Governing Council of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Friday, May 2, 2025.
Mr. Iddrisu voiced his concerns regarding reports of inferior food quality and delays in supply, emphasizing that the feeding program must provide value for money and adhere to basic nutritional standards.
‘We are dissatisfied with both the quality of the food supplied and the timeliness of its distribution,’ he stated. ‘I will not hesitate to revoke that policy decision, despite it being a manifesto commitment, if necessary to ensure that appropriate quality and quantities of food are delivered.’
The decentralized feeding system enables school heads to receive direct grants for local food purchases, replacing the former centralized model where the National Food Buffer Stock Company supplied food to schools across the country.
Mr. Iddrisu assigned the GES Council, led by Professor Mawutor Avoke, the responsibility of closely monitoring the policy. He also called on school administrators to perform regular internal audits and advocated for unannounced inspections by national officials.
He expressed his expectation that internal audits within schools, along with national evaluations, would assist in tracking the food being served.
Furthermore, he urged the Director-General and Professor Avoke to occasionally conduct surprise visits to school dining facilities to personally assess the quality of meals provided to students.
In addition to concerns about nutrition, the Minister highlighted issues of increasing insecurity and indiscipline within second-cycle institutions, referencing recent violent occurrences, such as a shooting at Kumasi SDA Senior High School that resulted in a student being critically injured.
He remarked, ‘You have heard the accounts of gunfire within an educational setting.
You have heard of knives and other weapons being brandished on school grounds.’ He emphasized that such behavior is not representative of Ghanaian values and called for immediate and proactive measures to ensure safety across all educational institutions.
In reply, Professor Avoke affirmed that the GES Council would meet the challenge.
‘The confidence placed in us to enhance pre-tertiary education in this nation is a responsibility we take seriously,’ he stated.
‘As members of the GES Council, we recognize the tasks ahead, including the execution of educational policies aimed at achieving quality outcomes.’
Mr. Iddrisu further indicated that the recommendations from the recent National Education Forum would be actively pursued and integrated into the government’s comprehensive strategy to enhance the education sector.
