School heads ask for increase in feeding grants

Pge 47
09-10-08

HEADS of senior high schools in the country have petitioned the Ghana Education Service (GES) for an increase in the feeding grant of students to meet the increasing cost of goods and services.
According to them, the 80Gp per day per student was inadequate and, therefore, there was the need for an increase in the amount.
They said feeding a student three times a day on 80Gp was not enough.
The Director of the Secondary Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Stephen Adu, who confirmed the petition of the heads of schools to the Daily Graphic, said the service had begun the process of looking at the possibility of increasing the feeding grant.
He said since many factors would have to be taken into consideration before an increment could be approved, there was the need to have the basis on which the increase was to be made.
Mr Adu said that would give a fair idea as to how much needed to be added, saying, “We need to see the matrons on the cost of food items, since they are the technical people on the ground.”
Once that was done, he said, the service would be able to come up with how much needed to be added.
He said any increase in the grant would be effected next year, since the bills of students, especially those in first-year, had already been prepared.
Mr Adu said the GES was working closely with the heads, saying they had been very co-operative and that in the event of any increase it would be communicated to them.
Meanwhile, the GES has said the results of 2008 Basic Education Certificate Examination candidates who have qualified for admission to senior high schools but have not been placed have been dispatched to the regions for distribution to schools.
It said the results of about 769 re-entry candidates who had not been placed had also been dispatched alongside those of the 2008 candidates.
The GES said heads of junior high schools were to make available ‘Form B’ to every qualified but unplaced candidate at no cost, adding that “all qualified but unplaced candidates are to complete sections A, B and C of the Form B and submit it to the heads of junior high schools”.
It said heads were expected to complete the filling of the Form B for submission to their district directors by October 7, 2008 for onward submission to the Director-General of the GES through the regional directors of education.
It warned that any head caught selling the forms would be severely sanctioned.