Kumasi:The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has raised concerns that inaccurate school enrolment figures could compromise the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP). This issue could potentially result in some children not receiving sufficient meals while resources are distributed to pupils who may not be attending.
According to Ghana Web, Dr. Lartey emphasized the importance of accurate and verifiable data in ensuring that resources reach the intended beneficiaries of the programme, which currently supports more than 4.5 million children every school day.
The Minister addressed these issues during a sensitisation workshop for Regional and District Education Directors from the Ashanti and Western North regions, held in Kumasi. The workshop aimed to enhance collaboration, data management, and monitoring to improve the programme's delivery.
Dr. Lartey noted that unreliable enrolment figures could cause misallocation of food and other resources, with schools reporting higher actual enrolment potentially receiving insufficient provisions. She urged educational authorities to collaborate in ensuring that submitted figures are based on reliable and verified school records.
She clarified that the goal is to establish a system that guarantees every child enrolled receives their intended meal, not to assign blame. Dr. Lartey also highlighted the government's increased investment in the programme, with the feeding grant raised from GHS1.50 to GHS2 per child per day.
Efforts have been made to enhance meal nutritional quality, including training 20,171 caterers and head cooks in practical nutrition standards. Dr. Lartey reiterated that reliable data is crucial for plans to expand the programme, ensuring that expansion is supported by adequate resources.
She called for stronger collaboration between the Ghana School Feeding Programme Secretariat and the Ghana Education Service to improve monitoring, reporting, and accountability at school and district levels, ensuring proper resource allocation and meal provision for eligible pupils.