Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, has denied there is a total food shortage in schools across the country.

According to him, what is being experienced in schools across the country is merely a supply challenge, but insists the situation is not as dire as it is being made to seem in the media.

He admitted, however, that certain products, especially flour, have been in short supply for some time now, and was quick to mention that the Ministry had already commenced action to solve the problem in the shortest possible time.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Tuesday, he stated the Ministry is yet to receive any formal complaint from a head of school about a total shortage of food.

“So far as we are concerned we do not have any official complaint of food shortage. You see the whole point is about the picture that you want us to admit and push through our throat that there is a food shortage.

“I admit that there’s a challenge like Hanan rightly said but that challenge does not necessarily mean that there is a shortage. He said for instance you have about food items, about 18 of them, about 17 of them has been supplied.

“Again there’s also that bit that you’re expected to provide let’s say days quantity of food that is supposed to take the students throughout that semester, but within the space of time, presently, probably you may be having food quantities that could take them for two or three weeks. That cannot be termed as food shortage.”

His comments come in the wake of delayed food supplies to secondary schools across the country.

On Monday, the Students’ Representative Council of second-cycle institutions in the Ashanti region appealed to the government for the timely release of food and funds under the free SHS policy. 

They observed recent delays in deliveries to most schools have resulted in a shortage of food items, hampering academic activities. 

Delayed release of funds has led to a shortage in food supplies, affecting the menu in most schools. 

President of the Ashanti regional SRC, Delancy Ama Aya Kye, stressed stringent monitoring and supervision of supplies would ensure the effective and efficient running of the free SHS policy. 

“There are occasions where funds for recurrent expenditure in our schools have delayed so much bringing co-curricular activities to a halt in our schools. 

“Without funding, crucial activities like sports, culture, science and math activities. The timely release of funds will be crucial for both curricular and extra-curricular activities. 

“A review of the supply policy to ensure that heads of schools could have enough resources to take care of their local needs and supplies with stringent monitoring,” she said. 

Earlier, students of Savelugu SHS in the Northern Region on Sunday, February 20, protested the quality of meals offered them by the authorities.

The riot began after they accused school authorities of feeding them with expired milk and tin fish. The students also said the meals offered are very small for young adults of their kind.

The rampaging students pelted stones on the roof of the dining hall amidst chants like “we will not eat.”

Responding to these issues, Kwasi Kwarteng noted that food supplies are currently being rolled out to the Senior High Schools thus calling for calm.

“We are leaders; we take responsibility for everything that happens in the schools. Of course, buffer stock being an agency of the Ministry is responsible for facilitating food to the schools. So far as the Ministry is concerned we do not have such records and that is why we did not want to make an admission of that.

“But of course, it also doesn’t mean that those concerns that have been raised will not be tackled. For instance, when you rightly mentioned the Wesley Girls’ Schools we’ll find out and quickly if that’s the situation we’ll provide intervention. But I’ll be very surprised of such a situation exists and the leadership of the school has not made us to know,” he said.

He added that to stave off the issue of lack of cash to pay for food supplies, the Ministry was currently exploring finding alternative sources of funding for the Buffer Stock Company.

According to him, the Buffer Stock Company, were it a private organisation would be a multi-million dollar one.

He, therefore, suggested that time the company must branch out to other sources of funding other than government.

“And I’m aware that the Minister of Education, Dr. Osei Adutwum currently has been also having conversations about alternative source of funding for the Buffer Stock as an institution so that when government money comes in, whether it delays or comes in as and when it’s supposed to at least it augment their efforts. So that conversation is also going on,” he said.

Kwasi Kwarteng assured parents and guardians of the good wellbeing of their children at schools and assured them of the Ministry’s readiness to attend expediently to the issue of food supply shortages in schools.

“But let me assure parents that wherever there is a challenge, if we get to know the name of the school, quickly we’ll move in, but I also don’t want parents to at least be afraid or be so much worried that there are no foods in the schools.

“We have about 722 schools and are we very sure that out of this 722 schools there’s that dire situation as its being painted to look, this country would have broken down,” he said.