Hajia Fati Forgor, the National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, has expressed deep concern over headteachers deliberately inflating pupil enrolment numbers, warning that the practice is denying deprived schools vital access to the initiative.
Addressing Ghana Education Service (GES) Regional and District Directors at a workshop in Accra, Hajia Forgor revealed that certain schools receive catering allocations based on exaggerated figures while genuinely needy schools nearby are left with nothing.
She cautioned that enrolment figures dictate direct payments to caterers, noting that inflated data allows single schools to absorb resources meant to cover multiple institutions.
“Most of the enrolment has been inflated. Some have been inflated beyond reasonable doubt,” she lamented. “Every day, district chief executives, MPs, and stakeholders who have an interest in service delivery keep knocking at my door requesting coverage for deprived schools. Where they are, they deserve it more, but we do not have the space.”
Hajia Forgor urged GES officials to work closely with her outfit to audit and clean up existing data to ensure equitable distribution.
“In those same jurisdictions, you have individuals who have combined with their teachers to inflate enrolment that could have absorbed about five schools within that same community. We think, as collaborators, if we are able to bring this to your attention, we can actually resolve this issue by cleaning up our data so that the excesses can be knocked off,” she added.
She emphasised that correcting the data would free up resources to extend coverage to the estimated 30 per cent of eligible public schools currently excluded from the programme.
Clarifying another issue, Hajia Forgor dispelled claims that Junior High Schools (JHS) have been deliberately excluded, explaining that expansion across educational levels remains progressive, with the ultimate target being universal school feeding across Ghana.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana