Former GES Director Calls for Decentralization of Food Procurement for Free SHS Program

Charles Aheto-Tsegah, the former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has emphasized that the unique circumstances of each senior high school in Ghana make it difficult to manage food procurement and distribution centrally.

He joined the growing calls for decentralizing the process, which has been identified as one of the main challenges facing the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) program launched by the Akufo-Addo-led government.

Speaking on the 3FM Sunrise Morning Show on Friday, January 17, 2025, Aheto-Tsegah explained that decisions made centrally in Accra about the type of food supplied to schools in different regions are not always appropriate for local needs. “The schools are very unique in their situations, so for somebody to sit in Accra and decide what food to give to the people in Tamale and also to the people in the Volta Region could be very unfortunate,” he said. He added that this one-size-fits-all approach often fails to meet the diverse demands of the students, affecting their overall satisfaction with meals.

Further elaborating on the feeding challenges faced by schools, Aheto-Tsegah shared that, based on his discussions with headmasters, the core issue is not the lack of foodstuffs, but the insufficient funds to buy the necessary ingredients and items to prepare balanced meals. “The absence of money to purchase these accompanying ingredients is a bigger issue than the shortage of food itself,” he noted.

In light of this, Aheto-Tsegah welcomed the government’s proposal to provide cash directly to headmasters, allowing them to manage food procurement and preparation locally. “It is a good thing to allow the heads to procure and then ensure that they prepare proper meals that will enable our children to be properly fed along the line,” he said.

The government has recently begun addressing food shortages in schools by distributing stored food items from a warehouse in Tema. A total of 139,872 bags of rice are being supplied to schools across the country, providing a temporary relief for one month.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak, confirmed in an interview on January 16, 2025, that the government is working towards decentralizing the procurement and supply of food items to secondary schools, fulfilling a promise made by former President John Dramani Mahama.