Reports are emerging about a massive food shortage at various Senior High Schools (SHS) across the country, with some of the institutions said to be feeding their students Koko; the local porridge, three times daily without even bread.
Suppliers, have refused to supply because the government is unable to meet payment obligations.
In some instances, the students are said to be eating only dry Gari, every day.
On Accra-based, Citi Breakfast show yesterday, a relative of a student who texted, said the boy returned home from one of the schools very emaciated and bonny, with reports that they were not being fed well.
What this means is that, the kids could be running to town to either beg for food or engage in certain social vices to get money to buy food. The consequence of this particularly female students in some of these schools could be teenage pregnancies.
Most of the text messages omitted to mention the schools afraid that the government or the Ghana Education Service (GES) will be victimizing the heads of the schools.
The Herald, has picked the prominent names such as PRESEC Legon, Accra Academy, Accra Girls School as those which are badly hit.
Schools in Cape Coast in the Central Region, have not been spared either.
Volta Region schools, as well as their counterparts in the Eastern are also going through the same situation.
Northern sector schools, are also experiencing the same challenge.
In the past headmasters and authorities in some schools were either interdicted, sacked or transferred for speaking to the media over the appalling status of the schools as a result of the Free SHS policy embarked on by the government, which gives free food, free clothes, free books among others.
There have been reports on the poor status of the schools in terms of accommodation, beds, classrooms, food among others despite the high number of student enrollment due to the policy.
But the situation appears unresolved with thousands of students across the country currently facing hunger and starvation because they are far from their parents.
In one particular message sent to Bernard Avle, the host of the Citi break show, yesterday, a teacher lamented about the food shortage in the school which is in the Greater Accra Region, warning parents to make sure their wards bring food to the school to eat, because the school has run out of stock.
Reports are that the Heads of Assisted Senior Secondary School are very much aware of the worsening conditions in the schools, but have decided to remain quiet.
It was also mentioned that, school uniforms which were to be given out freely to the students, have also run out of supply.
Textbooks, as well as exercise books, have also been affected.
Some of the companies, whose agents also texted were emphatic that until they were paid by the government, they were not going to supply food to the schools.
Interestingly, neither the GES led by Prof. Kwasi Opoku – Amankwa nor the Ministry of Education led by Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has responded to cries of the students.
It is obvious, however, that the Free SHS policy is not working as planned.
