The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has described the current feeding fee of GH₵ 7.50p for students in Senior High Schools (SHSs) as inadequate.
According to the National Secretary of CHASS, Primus Baro, the amount is not enough to feed a student for a day.
The government currently allocates GH₵ 7.50 pesewas per student for three meals a day at secondary schools.
Only GH₵ 2.50 pesewas is used for purchasing perishable foods, while the government uses the remaining GH₵5.00 to buy other food items, which are then distributed to the schools.
However, he said in order not to burden the government in its early days, they would not push for an immediate increase in the fees.
“For now, it is not enough, but if we get it, fine. In the near future, I believe we will all agree on a more suitable figure. Considering the transitional issues and the very serious matter of food shortages, this is something we would have to manage.
“But going forward, I believe there will be a forum to review these figures and come up with something realistic, both in terms of the government’s ability to pay and in meeting at least a minimum standard of feeding in the schools,” he said.
Addressing the current shortage of food in some SHSs, Mr Baro said the government has given an assurance that, schools would receive additional funding by the end of Friday, January 17, 2025.