Over 1,800 students at Damongo Senior High School (SHS) in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region are worried as the school is unable to provide them with enough food.
Some final year students, who spoke to JoyNews, stated that the shortage of food has worsened since May this year.
This has resulted in some students relocating from the boarding house and commuting from their homes to school for classes.
A student said: “Since we reported in May this year, it has been like this. No food, so, I complained to my father. He asked me to return home because I can’t just be starving while there is food at home. So, for me and three of my colleagues, we eat from home. I think we should attend classes from home. If there is no quality can you talk about quantity?”
“We all know there is no food on campus. Now, if we go to the dining hall like this, some will get while others will not. This started since we came to school in May this year. Even banku too, same. Seriously, they even reduced the quantity,” another student added.
A male student also told JoyNews that: “The school called us and told us that it is not their fault. If we come and some don’t get food, we should not be complaining and that we should all be managing. So, because of that, it is now first-come, first-serve. Because, if you are lucky and you get, fine if not you go back or you go home like those from Savannah Region.”
A visit to the school on August 9, by Isaac Nongya during supper, confirmed what the students had earlier communicated.
Some 20 students were seen sharing a pan of banku and okro soup. There was also groundnut soup.
Sources on campus said the situation got worse in August, due to some issues with the Ghana Buffer Stock Company.
A female food supplier explained that “there is a disparity between what buffer stock pays us and the actual market prices. Because buffer stock expects me to supply a bag of maize for the price of GH¢250 when in Tamale market, the same quantity for ready cash is GH¢350.
“So, one thing is clear, either buffer stock goes with the market price for maize or no deal because I can’t buy at GH¢350 and come and give it to you for GH¢250. How much have I lost, GHC100?”
Meanwhile, several efforts by JoyNews, including follow-ups on both school management and the Municipal and Regional Directorate of the Ghana Education Service for their responses on the subject have yielded no results.