–BY Grace Zigah
In a major policy shift, the Mahama administration is moving to reverse the decentralized food supply system for Senior High Schools (SHSs) after concerns were allegedly raised about the quality and quantity of meals provided to students nationwide.
Speaking at the Jubilee House press briefing in Accra, Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, disclosed that the government is reviewing the current decentralized feeding model, which was introduced by the current administration to empower school administrators and stimulate local economies.
The decentralized food supply policy was a key campaign promise of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 elections.
The idea was to devolve procurement responsibilities from national suppliers to headmasters and bursars, allowing schools to procure food locally and improve timeliness while supporting local farmers and suppliers.
However, just about six months into the implementation, the Education Minister acknowledged that the program has not lived up to expectations in many schools, virtually branding the headmasters greedy.
“The quantities and quality of the food being served under the current model are simply not good enough,” Iddrisu admitted.
He announced that the government is now considering a hybrid approach. While the decentralized model will not be entirely scrapped, only about 40 percent of perishables and similar food items will continue to be procured by school authorities.
The bulk supply of grains and non-perishables will revert to centralized procurement through the Ghana Buffer Stock Company and the Ghana Commodity Exchange to ensure consistency and quality.
“What is most important at this point is timely, quality delivery of food to our schools,” the Minister stressed.
With the steps to be implemented, the NDC government is stepping back to the previous administration’s system of allocating portion of the feeding grants to the headmasters to procure perishable food items while Buffer Stock supplied the rest.
Turning attention to higher education, Iddrisu highlighted the challenges arising from the increased enrollment in SHS due to the Free SHS policy.
He pointed out that while access has expanded exponentially, higher education institutions are struggling with limited infrastructure to absorb the growing number of graduates.
To address this, the Minister said he has made a formal request for the Ministry of Education and its related agencies to benefit from President Mahama’s “Big Push” infrastructure initiative.
The plan aims to rapidly expand lecture halls and student accommodations across public tertiary institutions.
“The government’s education philosophy still rests on Access, Relevance, and Quality (ARC),” Iddrisu emphasized.
He added that some public universities are being encouraged to enter into public-private partnerships to expand infrastructure without compromising academic integrity.
Ending the Double-Track System
On the government’s commitment to phase out the controversial double-track system introduced in 2018, Iddrisu revealed a pilot project involving 50 to 60 private schools.
Under this initiative, the state will absorb the cost of students placed in these private schools, thereby increasing placement capacity within the Free SHS framework.
“This means that students who would have otherwise attended private schools at their own cost will now receive state sponsorship while continuing their education in private institutions,” he explained.
Funding the Free SHS Policy
In response to ongoing public debate about the sustainability of the Free SHS policy, Mr. Iddrisu disclosed that President Mahama has instructed the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to allocate nearly GH¢4 billion towards the program.
This is expected to ensure its continuity and improve delivery without compromising quality.
The move to partially re-centralize the SHS food supply program signals a pragmatic shift by the Mahama administration—balancing local economic empowerment with the need to maintain national standards in nutrition and education quality.
