Two key teacher unions- the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) have expressed deep disappointment over the government’s latest decision not to allow school heads to procure grains for students.
According to the unions, the move could worsen existing challenges and open the floodgates for profiteering under the buffer stock system.
The leadership of both unions shared their concerns in an interview with our Labour Affairs Correspondent, Daniel Opoku, in Accra on June 20.
In a dramatic policy reversal, the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, on June 18 announced that government will no longer permit heads of schools to directly procure grains for students.
This comes in the wake of growing complaints from parents and students over the poor quality of meals being served, coupled with concerns about the reported diversion of food items.
These are issues that have become a major concern for authorities.
Despite allocating over one billion cedis for student feeding in the 2025 budget and earlier promises in the NDC manifesto to empower school heads in food procurement, the policy shift has drawn sharp criticism from teacher unions
The leadership of NAGRAT and TEWU say they are stunned by government’s U-turn.
Angel Carbonu, President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) questioned the rationale for the decsion.
“Why are we saying all of a sudden that the quality of food is within the confines of heads of institutions? Are we therefore saying that the amount of money government is giving to the school heads is so much that the school heads are syphoning a percentage, and by so doing not providing quality?” he quizzed.
“A lot people in education voted for the NDC because of these promises. I speaking to you, championed the situation where we will give the money to schools and I still stand by it. If we change what the President promised us back to what we were against, I will be disappointed. The government is in power for five months, and just because of five months giving money to heads we think it is enough to change it by giving it to businesspeople?” he wondered.
He argues that denying heads the mandate could open the door for private interests to exploit the buffer stock system.
“A lot of people benefited financially from the old system where money was being given to buffer stock- politicians, private men and women and those people will do everything to see whether we can have a reversal so that they will come back and benefit from the system,” he contended.
The General Secretary of TEWU, King James Azortibah, linked the quality concerns to inadequate resources provided to school heads.
“If you give a headmaster of a school who has a student population of about five thousand students and you give him money and the money is coming like a District Assembly Common Fund that the first quarter ends and the money is not in then definitely, we will have these challenges,” he bemoaned.
He called on government to ensure dedicated funding is made available to improve student feeding.
“We are hearing that they have paid the first-year tertiary students to the universities that is an additional but if the basic needs to provide equitable education is not there such as feeding then we have a challenge,” Mr Azortibah added.
