Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has voiced his and President John Mahama’s disappointment over the poor quality of meals served to students in Senior High Schools (SHSs), cautioning that the situation may force a reversal of the government’s plan to decentralise food procurement.

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Speaking during a meeting with the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Minister criticised the current standard and delivery of meals in schools and hinted that the policy—though a key manifesto promise—could be scrapped if quality does not improve.

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"We are not satisfied with the quality of the food that is being supplied and we are not satisfied with the timely distribution of the food,” he said. “I'll not hesitate to reverse that policy decision, even though a manifesto pledge, in order to guarantee that the right quality and quantity of food product are supplied."

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The Minister further charged internal and national audit teams to tighten oversight of food supplies in schools. He urged education authorities to occasionally visit schools unannounced during mealtimes to witness firsthand what students are being served.

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“I expect that internal audit in the schools together with national, will strengthen the policing of the food and once in a while, Director General, you and Professor Avoker, you can have unannounced visits to the schools at the time that they are having their meals so you can appreciate the quality of food that is being served.”

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He also issued a stern reminder to school heads to ensure they meet the expected food standards, saying, “So a caution to our headmasters to improve the food that is being supplied is quality.”

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As part of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s education agenda, the proposed decentralisation of food supply would grant heads of SHSs the autonomy to use feeding grants for local food purchases, moving away from dependence on the National Food Buffer Stock Company.

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However, Minister Iddrisu stressed that the success of the policy depends on strict adherence to quality and timely delivery.

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In a related development, Naa Humu Boateng, a caterer with the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), has refuted claims that meals served to schoolchildren lack taste. She said the real problem lies in the insufficient quantity of food, driven by low funding.

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“Our food is not tasteless, but the quantity is small. In terms of protein, sometimes we use beans, and beans has protein. And we do not cook raw rice, we add vegetables, and there is nutrition in the vegetables,” she stated on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Friday, May 2.

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According to her, caterers are struggling to manage with the limited funds provided per child despite recent promises of an increase.

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“The money that they were paying us was 97 pesewas, and they increased it to 1 cedi 45 pesewas, and the last time we heard that they are increasing it to 2 Ghana cedis. But even with that, we haven’t received it yet, so how do you expect us to use an amount of 500 or 400 Ghana cedis to cook for about 350 school kids?

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“We cook the food well, but the quantity is small. So the rumour that the food is tasteless is not true, because I eat the food myself,” she added.

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