The Conference of Heads of Assisted Senior High Schools (CHASS) has urged parents and guardians to help alleviate the chronic food shortages in senior high schools across Ghana. This appeal follows the Ghana Education Service's (GES) recent decision to reopen schools despite outstanding financial concerns, including the government's refusal to pay for perishable food items provided to students last year.

CHASS's National Secretary, Primus Baro, raised alarm about the severe food condition at high schools during an interview with JoyNews shortly after the reopening. He mentioned that many institutions are currently limiting food, thus CHASS has encouraged parents to send their children to school with food items to complement what the schools can supply.

"I advise parents to allow their children to bring food such as gari, shitor, and sugar to school," Baro told me. He stressed that the food situation has not improved in recent years and has gotten worse, particularly in northern Ghana.

Baro noted serious shortages in areas such as the Upper West, Upper East, and Northern regions, where schools are unable to acquire consistent food supplies. "In my school, there is currently no cooking oil, so our matron has been using margarine as a substitute. "We don't have maize or beans, so we eat mostly rice and gari," he explained.

The Free Senior High School (SHS) program, launched by the previous administration, has faced various obstacles, including inadequate facilities and food scarcity. Critics contend that, while the initiative increased the number of SHS graduates, it did not necessarily improve educational quality.

In response to these concerns, President John Mahama committed before his election to revive rather than eliminate the Free SHS program, with the goal of addressing the structural issues that had arisen.

Source: myjoyonline.com