Food shortage in SHS: Students resorting to barter trading – GNECC

The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has revealed that following the shortage of food in Senior High Schools (SHS), students are now resorting to barter trading.

There has been an issue of food shortage in some SHSs in the country due to the government’s failure to pay the company responsible for supplying food to the schools.

Recently, a letter from the Upper West Chairman of Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools to Regional Director of Education said due to the food shortage, if government is unable to supply them food by 15th July 2022, parents and guardians would be asked to support their wards or else they close down the schools because they will not have food to feed the students.

A statement, signed by the National Chairman of the Education Campaign Coalition, Joseph Atsu Hamodzi, stated that their Regional Executives conducted investigations in seven regions – Ashanti, Greater Accra, Eastern, Western, Bono and Volta – which confirmed similar situations.

“For example parents are being asked to provide financial support to their children to manage themselves due to the reported food shortage in some schools,” Mr Hamodzi said in his statement.

The Chairman of the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition stated again that the shortage of food has led to students resorting to some form of barter trading.

“Some students, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that they have only one meal a day and some schools, dried fish is exchanged for powdered fish and small quantities are used to prepare stew and soup for the students which is making it difficult for the students to concentrate,” he lamented.

The Non-Governmental Organisation, which focuses on issues pertaining to education, said the schools are faced with food shortages because government has failed to pay the National Buffer Stock Company Limited so they are pleading with the government to pay any money owed the Buffer Stock Company for them to supply to the schools.

The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition explained again that release of feed grants to the Special Schools have not been regular and therefore called on the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service to ensure timely release of feeding grants to the Special Schools for effective running of the schools.