The National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Hajia Fati Forgor, has raised concerns about the inflation of enrolment figures by some head teachers, warning that the practice is affecting the equitable distribution of school meals across the country.
According to Hajia Forgor, inaccurate enrolment data makes it difficult for the programme to determine the actual number of pupils who require meals, potentially resulting in some schools receiving more food than needed while others may not receive adequate quantities.
She raised concerns over what she describes as worrying developments in some schools, particularly the alleged inflation of enrolment figures used to determine payments under the school feeding programme.
According to her, the accuracy of school enrolment data is critical because it serves as the basis for payments to caterers who provide meals to schoolchildren.
Speaking on the issue on Channel 1 TV monitored by Bole based Nkilgi FM, Hajia Forgor explained that caterers pre-finance the resources required to provide meals to pupils and are subsequently paid by the government based on official school enrolment figures.
She stated;
“What I have realized from where I sit is that most of the enrollment has been inflated. Some have been inflated beyond reasonable doubt”.
Hajia Forgor said the situation had become particularly concerning because some schools that deserved to benefit from the programme were reportedly being left out, while other schools within the same communities allegedly had their enrolment figures inflated.
The National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme said DCE’s, MP’s and other stakeholders had repeatedly raised concerns about schools that were not benefiting from the programme despite the needs of pupils in those communities.
According to her, there were also allegations of individuals working with teachers to inflate enrolment figures, resulting in resources that could have supported several schools being allocated to a single school.
She said;
“We have these schools which are not benefiting from the programme. They are deprived schools. Where they are, they deserve it more. We are not having it”.
Hajia Fati Forgor called for closer collaboration among stakeholders to address the discrepancies and improve the reliability of the data used in the programme.
She said cleaning up the enrolment data would help eliminate excesses and ensure that schools currently excluded from the programme could also benefit.
She further indicated that addressing the data challenges was necessary to ensure a fairer distribution of resources and expand the programme to the estimated 30 per cent of pupils who are currently not benefiting.
The National Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme noted that reliable data is critical to preventing distortions in the allocation of meals and ensuring that the programme reaches the intended beneficiaries.
She therefore called for closer collaboration between the Ghana School Feeding Programme and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to verify and clean up school enrolment data. She said stronger coordination between the two institutions would help identify discrepancies, improve accountability and provide a more accurate basis for planning and allocating meals.
Source: nkilgifm.com
