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| Food sellers chase school heads for cash |
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| Posted on: 2008-Mar-06 Daily Graphic |
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Food suppliers in the three northern regions are on the heels of heads of assisted high schools for outstanding food bills.
The situation has resulted in a shortage of foodstuffs in boarding schools in the three regions, threatening some of the schools with closure.
According to the members of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) in the three regions, their decision to purchase the foodstuffs on credit followed the inability of the sector ministry to release grants to them, making it extremely difficult for the schools to continue to feed students.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Northern, Upper East and Upper West chairmen of CHASS, Messrs C.K. Nyabu, Francis Avonsige and M.N. Donneyong respectively, after an executive meeting of the Northern CHASS in Tamale on Tuesday.
"We will, therefore, be compelled to send home the first and second-year students by Thursday, March 13, 2008 if full grants of the first and second terms are not released," they intimated.
They explained that since the beginning of the academic year in September last year, only 40 percent of the feeding grant for second and final-year students had been released, while nothing was received for first-year students for the same term.
"The second term started In January 2008 and as of now we are in the eighth week of the term, yet no funds have been released for the feeding of students in all forms," they further stated.
The heads alleged that even though they had written letters to the sector ministry, the Ghana Education Service and the three regional ministers in the north on their plight, they were yet to receive the needed responses on the release of the grants.
"We are sincerely very worried about the current state of affairs and wish to respectfully appeal to you to use your good offices to expedite action to salvage the situation," they added.
Problems concerning the recurrent delay in the release of feeding grants to schools in the northern regions that are enjoying government scholarships have persisted over the years, sometimes forcing the authorities to either open schools late or close early.
The payment of government subsidies to the schools and its resultant consequences on effective teaching and learning came up again for discussion at the 45th annual CHASS meeting in Tamale in November last year.
According to the conference, the situation, which is getting worse each year, was also affecting the smooth administration of the schools.
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