Mathew Opoku Prempeh, Education Minister designate
The Chairman of the Northern Regional Branch of Parents & Teachers Association (PTA) of second cycle institutions, Alhaji Abdul Malik Salifu Husseini has indicated that failure by government to settle the outstanding two terms feeding grant could cause riot in schools in the Northern Region.
Reports indicate that government had released funds to the various second cycle instructions to settle one out of the three terms feeding grants.
According to him, there were fears made at the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) executive meeting that if the outstanding two terms feeding grants is not paid and the schools run out of food, the students might riot because there is no food to feed them.
“If the students are not fed the way they are supposed to be fed they will demonstrate and that is our fear,” he stressed
He indicated that the heads of the various schools were warned to be prepared before calling the students back to school.
Second cycle instructions in the Northern Region reopened on Thursday 12th January, 2017.
Meanwhile Alhaji Abdul Malik Salifu Husseini is appealing to the new government to speed up with the process in order to settle the rest of the two terms feeding grants for the schools.
There are fears that, due to lack of funds, school authorities could reduce the quantity of food served students at the dining hall.
The reopening of the second cycle institutions in the Northern Region was postponed until further notice over feeding grants.
There will also be an emergency meeting between the headmasters of the various schools in the Northern Region to come out with a final decision today.
The second cycle schools in the three regions of the north are indebted to food suppliers for three terms.
Information available revealed that two terms of 2015/2016 and the 1st term of 2016/2017 making it a whole year was in arrears and such indebtedness would not allow them to go back to the suppliers.
Some parents expressed worry that the situation could have adverse effects on the academic work of their wards.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale