NGOs condemn politicization of free meals for final year JHS students

Civil Society Organizations forming the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition have described as condemnable, politicizing hot meals served final year Junior High School students.

It follows disturbing social media visuals of a teacher asking students to repeat the 4 more for nana slogan or forfeit their free meals. Some pictures in circulation also show food packs with the picture of the president Nana Akufo-Addo embossed on them.

The coalition insists politicizing such national policies is inimical to the objectives of the intervention.

The intervention was meant to be nothing beyond providing meals for 584 thousand final year students and their staff in the Junior High Schools.

READ: BECE candidates to enjoy one hot meal a day – Nana Akufo Addo

The objective according to President Nana Akufo Addo was to ensure that students do not breach COVID 19 protocols as they move outside in droves to buy lunch.

The intervention which was lauded by Education Watchers and Teacher Unions, however, appears to have caught the election year fever with disturbing videos going viral on social media.

A staff of a school took to social media showing visuals of how students were to repeat the 4 more for Nana mantra as the price of getting a meal.

William Owusu Gyebi, Chairman of the Coalition of NGOs in health and an executive member of the GNECC said though the Ashanti Region has not witnessed same in the region, the development needs to be investigated and condemned.

The coalition has been touring over a hundred and fifty schools; monitoring adherence to COVID-19 interventions as well as infection prevention and control measures.

It points out that though commendable; the timing for the distribution of the hot meals to the students defeats the purpose as students go out to have lunch before the meals arrive.

The GNECC is yet to publish rather uncomplimentary findings on how Ghana failed to properly institute school reopening measures contrary to government’s assertion that students were safe in schools.