The National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Hajia Fati Forgor, has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to help regulate the time at which meals are served to pupils under the programme.
The Coordinator says meals should be served at 10:00 a.m. across all participating schools to improve monitoring and ensure that beneficiaries receive their meals at the appropriate time.
She made the call during a meeting with Directors of the Ghana Education Service, where discussions focused on improving the implementation and monitoring of the School Feeding Programme.
According to her, a standardised feeding time will make it easier for officials to monitor the programme and ensure that caterers adhere to the required standards.
She explained that the programme is primarily intended to support needy children, particularly pupils who depend on the school feeding initiative because they do not have food from home.
The Coordinator stressed that the programme must therefore remain focused on its core objective of providing nutritious meals to vulnerable schoolchildren.
The National Coordinator also cautioned caterers against preparing meals that are not part of the approved menu for pupils.
She specifically mentioned spaghetti and ‘oil rice’, stressing that such meals should not be served to children under the programme.
She urged caterers to adhere strictly to the approved menu and provide pupils with a variety of nutritious meals that meet the nutritional requirements of the School Feeding Programme.
The warning comes amid concerns over the quality and variety of meals served to pupils in some participating schools.
The meeting with GES Directors forms part of efforts by the Ghana School Feeding Secretariat to strengthen collaboration with education authorities and improve monitoring of the programme across the country.
The Secretariat believes closer collaboration with the Ghana Education Service will help ensure that caterers comply with feeding schedules and nutritional guidelines.
The National Coordinator said effective monitoring is essential if the School Feeding Programme is to achieve its objective of improving nutrition, supporting school attendance and ensuring that vulnerable children have access to at least one nutritious meal during the school day.
The Secretariat is consequently pushing for greater uniformity in feeding times and strict adherence to the approved menu as part of measures to improve the delivery of the programme.
By Joseph Armstrong Gold-Alorgbey
