Ghana’s secondary school system faces a potential shutdown after talks between the government and school authorities over feeding arrangements under the Free Senior High School programme ended in a deadlock, officials said.
A high-level meeting convened by Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu on Friday to resolve a worsening food supply crisis in schools failed to produce an agreement, raising fears of disruptions for more than one million students.
The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) warned that schools could be forced to close if immediate funding is not released to procure essential food supplies.
“We may have no option but to send students home if the situation does not improve,” a source within CHASS told Asaase News, citing severe shortages of perishable items such as meat, eggs and vegetables.
The meeting brought together key institutions including the Ghana Education Service, the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the Ghana Education Trust Fund, but disagreements persisted over procurement and financing arrangements.
Iddrisu had proposed that GETFund maintain a system allowing school heads to independently source perishable goods, but stakeholders failed to reach consensus on the mechanism.
School administrators say they have struggled for months to sustain feeding, often relying on credit or personal funds as supplies from the Buffer Stock Company decline and inflation erodes budgets.
The impasse follows a joint petition by CHASS and the Conference of Principals of Technical Institutions (COPTI), who say the situation has reached a critical point.
A shutdown would mark one of the most serious challenges to the Free SHS programme since its introduction, potentially disrupting the academic calendar and preparations for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
Stakeholders are expected to resume discussions in the coming days as pressure mounts on authorities to stabilise the feeding system and avert a nationwide closure of schools.
