As public basic schools reopened nationwide on Tuesday after the long vacation, the Upper East Regional Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Fawzia Yakubu Abagnamah, embarked on monitoring visits to some schools in the region to ensure smooth implementation of the programme.
Speaking to the media after her visits, Madam Abagnamah described the exercise as satisfactory, noting that caterers were at post and preparing hot meals for the pupils. She urged them to pay critical attention to both the quality and quantity of food they serve to the children, stressing that the programme plays a crucial role in sustaining school enrolment and improving nutrition.
According to her, the government has taken steps to address one of the programme’s long-standing challenges—delays in payments to caterers. She said that under the President’s “reset agenda,” funds have been released to ensure timely disbursement of allowances to caterers. This, she explained, would prevent the kind of boycotts witnessed in the past when caterers abandoned kitchens over delayed payments.
Beyond monitoring, Madam Abagnamah also interacted with first-time pupils admitted to school for the first time. She encouraged them to attend school regularly, take their studies seriously, and show respect to their teachers and parents. “These values,” she noted, “are the foundation that will help you grow into responsible future leaders.”
To make their first day memorable, she distributed biscuits to the new pupils in the schools she visited, drawing smiles and excitement among the children.
The monitoring exercise forms part of efforts by the Ghana School Feeding Programme to strengthen accountability, improve service delivery, and ensure that the government and its partners’ investment in children’s welfare translates into tangible outcomes in education.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga
