The decision of School Feeding Caterers to halt operations until their demands were addressed by the government has exposed absenteeism and low attendance in several Kadjebi township primary schools.
Since schools resumed on May 9, 2022, for their second term academic work, the Caterers have refused to give students one hot meal every day.
The resignation is due to a two-term delay in the payment of feeding assistance, which has resulted in a demand for an increase in the award from 0.97 percent to three Ghana Cedis (GH3.00) per kid.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, a teacher at Kadjebi E.P Primary School, who requested anonymity, claimed that owing to the strike, school attendance had dropped from 689 to 455 kids as of Friday, May 20. (GNA).
He urged the government to take the Caterers' demands for payment of their feeding arrears seriously and raise the feeding allowance to at least GH3.00 per kid.
Another teacher at Kadjebi D /A "A" Primary School, who agreed to an interview with GNA, said the Caterers' demand for an increase in stipend was reasonable given the rise in food prices.
He claimed the strike had harmed attendance, which had plummeted from 524 to 450 students.
He thought the School Feeding Program was great, but he thought they should be more active.
A teacher at Kadjebi R.C Primary School, which has 532 students, told GNA on condition of anonymity that the strike has negatively impacted attendance and academic performance, and that the government should reply to their requests as soon as possible.
He added that, while the School Feeding Program was wonderful, he had difficulty implementing it in the school since they were not engaged in the menu to be cooked and served, thus cooks produced whatever meal and served it whenever and however they wanted.
He said that meal sharing was sporadic and irregular and that there were several explanations for poor food quality.
Mr. Emmanuel Adamu Bible, a Desk Officer-in-Charge of the Ghana School Feeding Programme at the Kadjebi District Assembly, told GNA that the Caterers were on strike for two terms because they had not been paid their feeding grants and demanded that the grant be increased due to economic conditions and increased market food prices.
Mr. Bilbe stated that all documents related to the payment of the arrears had been gathered and delivered to the relevant authorities, and that payment will be made soon.
The School Feeding Program, which began in 2005, sought to increase school enrollment by encouraging punctuality and allowing students to focus in class.