Head teacher of the Kumawu Presbyterian Primary School in the Sekyere Kumawu District of the Ashanti Region has stated that the pupils are rejecting substandard meals prepared by caterers under the School Feeding Programme (SFP).
According to her, the children have complained bitterly about the quality and quantity of meals provided by caterers under the SFP at the school.
Ms Owusu Afriyie said many of the pupils prefer to buy food outside because the SFP meals are not enough for them.
She disclosed this to the media on the sidelines of a public education event on nutrition at the weekend.
“Even though my school is a beneficiary of government’s programme, the quality and quantity of the food being served the pupils leaves much to desire.
“At my school the children are rejecting the free meals amid concerns over quality and quantity of food served them by caterers, who claim they are unable to meet standards because of the pre-financed scheme,” she disclosed.
Ms Owusu Afriyie said the programme has immensely benefitted the poor pupils in the area and called for the timely release of funds to caterers to enable them discharge their duties effectively.
District Chief Executive (DCE), Addai Agyekum, said a report on the issue should be forwarded to the SFP Secretariat for redress, adding that the said caterer had been tasked to cook the food at the school’s compound as a stop-gap measure.
He was not enthused about the approach of the head teacher in publicizing the report, pointing out that Ms Owusu Afriyie ought to have lodged a complaint with the district SFP Committee or his office for redress.
He said a meeting was summoned by the SFP Committee to address similar issues at the queen mother’s house in February this year after the head teacher made a report to the district director of education.
“And so if she still has issues with the quality of the food prepared for the children she has to report to my office or SFP Committee which includes the District Director of Health and not the media,”the DCE submitted.
Mr Agyekum said in as much as he would not encourage caterers to prepare substandard food for school-children, a caterer who cooks for 600 people might not get it right all the time.
He stated that his outfit addressed similar challenges related to SFP in the past, saying, “There was an incident at Dadiase L/A School where a food vendor sold fried fish on credit to pupils under the programme.”
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi