Accra, May 16, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday said the provision of education in Northern Ghana is the surest way to bridge the yawning gap between the North and the South.

It has, therefore, asked the Government to live up to its responsibilities by ensuring that feeding grants and all monies due to second-cycle institutions in the Northern Sector were released to avoid any disruption of the academic calendar.

The NDC in a release signed by Bede Ziedeng, Acting General Secretary, in Accra expressed concern that students in public second-cycle institutions in the Northern, Upper West and Upper East Regions had either been asked to go home shortly after reporting to school from vacation or have postponed reopening of schools due to the delay in releasing their feeding grants.

The release said the Tamale Secondary School in the Northern Region was to re-opened on May 9; and in the Upper West Region, Wa Secondary School and Lassia/Tuolu Secondary School were to reopen on May 7 while St Francis Girls; Nandom and Lawra Secondary Schools were to have re-opened on May 6, but all of them had to postpone their reopening.

"What is more disturbing is that no definite dates have been given for reopening of these institutions and the students are simply told to stay at home until further notice. This situation is completely unacceptable as it affects the education of tens of thousands of students in the Northern Regions of Ghana.

"As a matter of ritualistic response the NDC calls on the Government to release the feeding grants without further delay in order for the institutions to re-open for normal academic work to resume", the release said.