Elder Peter A. Gyamfi, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the Conference of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), says that the government has given money to Senior High Schools for the 2023 academic year under its perishables and recurrent expenditures.
He said that the money was split into three groups: perishables for current form two and three students, recurring expenses for form three students who just graduated from high school, and capital expenses for form three students who just graduated from high school.
Elder Gyamfi said this in an interview with Ghana News Agency about how ready the 90 senior high schools in the Eastern Region are for the new school year, which started this week.
"The perishables cost GH1.50p per student per day, and the regular costs go toward maintenance and running the school in general," he said.
But he said that it was disappointing that only 15 of the 90 SHSs had received the three "itemised food items" to start the new school year.
"As we talk, Bufferstock has already given food suppliers contracts. "Out of the 18 food items listed, 10 schools only got beans, 3 schools got beans and maize, and 2 schools got beans and gari," he said.
Beans, gari, rice, millet, maize, soya beans, tom brown, sugar, sardines, mackerels, milk, peanuts, flour, margarine, vegetable cooking oil, hot chocolate, and tin tomatoes are some of the 18 items.
He said that the 18 "itemized food items" needed to feed the students were still not at the schools.
Elder Gyamfi, who is also the Headmaster of Pentecost SHS in Koforidua, said that as of the end of Tuesday, about 650 students had come to school, and he hoped that number would go up in the next few days.
"You won't believe how excited students are to go back to school."
"Out of a total of 1,300 students who lived in dorms, about 650 had come forward," he said.
He thanked the Church of Pentecost for giving the school food while the authorities waited for supplies from the bufferstock company. The GNA said that students at Koforidua Senior High Technical School (Koforidua SecTech) and Adonteng Senior High School were showing up for the 2023 school year.
The Assistant Headmaster in charge of Administration at Koforidua SecTech, Mr. Samuel Batarema, said that all students should be back at school by Thursday to take a resumption exam.
He said that the purpose of the test was to get all of the students to school on time so that the school day could start as soon as possible.
Mr. Peter Danquah Kpakpo-Atsem, who is the Secretary of the Eastern Regional Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), asked teachers to follow the teachers' code of conduct.
Both Junior High Schools (JHS) and Senior High Schools (SHS) started a new school year on January 10, 2023. Many students, especially SHS students, were excited to go back to school.