Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey
The Government will not expand the Ghana School Feeding Programme to cover additional schools in 2026 due to budgetary constraints, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has disclosed.
Answering questions in Parliament yesterday, Dr. Lartey said the programme did not receive financial clearance under the 2026 Appropriation to bring more schools on board, despite the government’s long-term commitment to strengthening and expanding the initiative.
She explained that the government has instead prioritised improving the quality of meals served under the programme and providing financial relief to caterers within the resources currently available.
“Government recognises the important role of the Ghana School Feeding Programme in improving child nutrition, increasing school enrolment and retention, reducing absenteeism and supporting local food production,” she stated.
“Consequently, there is a long-term policy commitment to progressively strengthen and expand the programme within available resources. However, under the 2026 Appropriation, the programme did not receive financial clearance for further expansion to cover additional schools at this time.”
The minister noted that while expanding the programme would come with additional costs, the government has taken measures aimed at enhancing service delivery and ensuring that children currently benefiting from the programme receive better-quality meals.
Among the measures is an increase in the feeding grant from GH¢1.50 to GH¢2.00 per child per meal, representing a 50-pesewa increment.
According to Dr. Lartey, the increase is expected to ease the burden on caterers and improve the quality of meals provided to schoolchildren across the country.
“One of the first things that we did was to increase the amount from GH¢1.50 to GH¢2.00. That 50-pesewa increase goes a long way to improve the situation and relieve the caterers,” she said.
The minister further revealed that the government has removed the tax component deducted from payments made to caterers under the programme, a move she said would allow them to retain more resources for meal preparation.
“We are hoping that taking out the tax component in the payment of caterers will give them more relief in terms of the money they receive and help them prepare nutritious meals for the children,” she added.
Dr. Lartey acknowledged concerns over the inability to extend the programme to more schools but stressed that the government’s immediate focus is on quality rather than quantity.
“Sometimes people ask about the quantity, but we are focusing more on quality than quantity as the situation stands. As we get more financial clearance, we hope to focus on both quality and quantity as well,” she stated.
The Ghana School Feeding Programme currently provides one hot, nutritious meal every school day to about 4.23 million pupils in 12,045 public basic schools nationwide, covering learners from kindergarten to Primary Six.
The minister assured Parliament that the government remains committed to the long-term growth of the programme and will consider extending coverage to more schools when additional financial resources become available.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House