Continuing students of second cycle institutions in the Upper East Region are appealing to government to settle their feeding grant arrears to enable them reopen on the 4th of May 2017.
Various second cycle institutions are expected to reopen on Thursday 4th May, 2017, but head teachers of these schools in the region have entreated students not to report until their feeding grants are released.
Government owed second cycle schools in the region for three academic terms; the third term of 2015/2016 and the first and second terms of 2016/2017 academic years respectively.Some affected students told Citi News government should urgently come to their aid to enable them start effective classes with their southern counterparts.
Anafo Felix, a student of Zebilla Senior High Technical Institute, said “our headmaster told us on vacation day that, school will reopen on 4th May, 2017, but indicated that due to non-payment of feeding grants arrears by government, the school will only reopen if government pays off the arrears. So we are appealing to government to come to our aid and pay the feeding grants for us”
Another student, Mumuni Najat of BOGISS, said “we are supposed to reopen on the 4th of May, but we will not be able to reopen because of the non-payment of feeding grants so our appeal is that, government should pay the grants so that, we can go back to school and learn.”
Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Director of Education, Mrs. Jane Sabina Obeng, who confirmed government’s indebtedness to the second cycle institutions in the region, indicated that, though they have not received the grants yet, they were hopeful that government will release the grants before Thursday 4th May to enable them reopen the schools.
Delays in the on-payment of feeding grants to schools in northern Ghana, have become a common phenomenon which often affects teaching and learning in these schools.
Credit:Citifmonline.com