Government releases feeding grants to second cycle institutions in the north
The government has released feeding grants to all government-assisted second cycle institutions in the three regions in the north.
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This follows a decision by heads of the government-assisted senior high, technical and vocational schools in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions last week to close down the schools following what they said was an outstanding one-year feeding grants to the schools.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Abdallah Abubakari, who announced the release of the feeding grant at a handover ceremony of 20 buses and eight pickups to the various colleges of education in the region at the Residency last Saturday has, therefore, appealed to the heads of the institutions to rescind their decision.
He has asked them to check their various accounts today, for the money to enable them to pay their suppliers.
Claims and counter-claims
Before the announcement of the release of the feeding grant by the regional minister, there were speculations that the government-assisted second cycle institutions in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions had been closed down indefinitely due to the inability of the government to pay the feeding grant to the schools.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Northern Regional Director of Education, Alhaji Mohammed Haroon, on the issue, he said heads of the schools were asked to break for mid-terms last week, from Monday, June 13 to Friday, June 17, 2016 to pave the way for the schools to be used as examination centres for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) which ended on Friday.
He, therefore, discounted claims that the schools had been closed down indefinitely as a result of the non-payment of the feeding grant by the government.
However, some concerned citizens and civil society organisations (CSOs) working in the education sector raised red flags on the issue, saying that their checks with the heads of the schools and some students indicated that the schools had been closed down due to the inability of the government to pay the feeding grants to enable them to pay the amount they owed suppliers since last year.
As the war of words over the issue continued, checks by the Daily Graphic confirmed the assertion by the CSOs that students were told to go home indefinitely till the government released the feeding grant.
Release of feeding grant
At the handover ceremony, Mr Abubakari, told the Daily Graphic that the government had released the feeding grant and, therefore, asked heads of the government-assisted second cycle educational institutions to rescind their earlier decision to close down the schools.
“As I am speaking to you right now the government has paid the monies for the feeding grant into the accounts of the schools and heads of schools can check today June 20, 2016 for academic work to resume,” he stated.
Mr Abubakari gave an assurance that the government would not renege on its promise to ensure the delivery of quality education in the country hence the need for the teachers and heads of various institutions to collaborate with the government to deliver quality education to the students.
Vehicles
He said the government was doing its part to provide means of transport for educational institutions across the country and urged beneficiaries to also fulfil their side of the bargain by maintaining them, adding that “our institutions must uphold the culture of maintenance.”
He urged the beneficiaries to desist from using the vehicles for commercial purposes and cautioned that any institution caught using the vehicles for a different purpose would be sanctioned.
Mr Abubakari commended the heads of the various educational institutions in the region for their contributions towards quality education in the region in spite of the challenges.
Beneficiaries
Alhaji Haroon, who received the vehicles and handed them over to the beneficiaries, expressed gratitude to the government for the initiative and said logistical constraint had been the bane of various schools, especially those in the rural areas.
The Principal of St. Vincent College of Education at Yendi, Dr Erasmus Woviewu-Mortty, on behalf of the beneficiary institutions, thanked the government for the gesture and gave an assurance that the vehicles would be put to good use.