Executive Director of the Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has revealed that the Government of Ghana spent some GHC 40 million on providing food for Junior High School(JHS) candidates who sat the recently held Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE).
President Nana Akufo Addo in his fifteenth address on measures taken to contain the coronavirus pandemic, announced an initiative to feed BECE candidates who were preparing for the exam as part of strategies to stem the spread of the virus.
“I have recently received reports that some final year JHS students are going hungry in complying with COVID-19 protocols. I have just instructed the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection to begin preparations to ensure that as of August 24 to September 18, all 584,000 final year JHS students and 146,000 staff both in public and private schools be given one hot meal a day,” he announced.
The candidates have since written their papers and graduated with the government having spent a whopping GHC 40 on the hot meals.
For Mr Asare, this expenditure was hurriedly done even though it was not a necessity given that children “weren’t” hungry.
He therefore wondered why nurses and teachers are not being given their due.
Nurses, midwives and other health workers are currently on strike demanding better conditions of service.
Government has promised to resolve their grievances and have them return to work within the next 48 hours.
Read Asare’s post below:
“GoG spent GHC 40 million on food for JHS Students at Morning Star, Ridge Church and Mbaa Mp3 Hia JHS etc, even when they weren’t hungry. Prior, we spent close to GHC 70 million on mathematical sets and calculators for WASSCE candidates, an expense being incurred by parents in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as part of their contributuon to the education of their children. These two procurement expenditure were gleefully incurred with alacrity. Why should there be a Tango when it comes to giving Nurses and health workers their due? Is it because that isnt a procurement activity? Where is the plenty money we have been gleefully spending? Ahh; which kind country kraa be dis?”
