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Peacefmonline.com can authoritatively confirm that the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) will in the shortest possible time, be the latest government outfit to go digital.

When the GSFP digitizes its operations, tracking of caterers will become uncomplicated and the case of the state financing unapproved caterers’ activities will cease to exist.

Currently, the operations of the GSFP which has over 3million pupils benefiting from the government's policy, is manual.

Rolled out in 2006, the school feeding policy which seeks to enhance food security and reduce hunger, provides pupils in deprived communities with a meal each day, in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs) on hunger, poverty and malnutrition.

Earlier this week, they were several calls on government to overhaul the School Feeding Secretariat.

Allegations of payment of ghost schools surfaced with some caterers claiming the Secretariat had paid some 510 ghost schools an amount of GHC12M during the 2019/2020 academic year.

But reliable sources have hinted Peacefmonline, that efforts by the current administrator of the programme headed by Mrs Gertrude Quashigah, to ensure sanity in their operations by eliminating further cases of financing unapproved caterers, as well as monitor and streamline activities, precipitated these false claims.

This was after the GSFP recently initiated moves to track and bar some School Feeding caterers who are cooking without letters of engagement.

“The GSFP operates within an approved budget and anytime some persons try to impose themselves on the programme and they are prevented, they turn round to accuse the National Coordinator instead,” the source disclosed.

The programme currently boasts of creating jobs for over 10000 caterers and more than 35000 cooks in basic schools in all 260 districts.

Read below some achievements of the GSFP:

• The Programme has consistently provided children in public primary schools with one hot nutritious meal prepared from locally grown foodstuffs on every school going day.

• Increase in beneficiary pupils from 1,677,771 million in 2016 to 3,448,065 million.

• Given jobs to 10,850 caterers and over 35,000 cooks working in 10,832 basic schools in all the 260 districts.

• Development of GSFP bill waiting for passage by Parliament.

• Development of new GSFP operational manual with support from UNICEF.

• Digitization of GSFP monitoring and evaluation tools funded by WFP. It is presently on pilot basis in some districts in all the regions.

• It has been able to reduce hunger and malnutrition among beneficiary children.

• It has also increased school enrolment, attendance and retention, which has enhanced the development of education in Ghana.

• With support from World Food Programme WFP, the GSFP has instituted a countrywide Farmer Based Organisations Database for the first time in the history of the Programme aimed at boosting domestic food production.

• With financial and technical supports from development partners especially the WFP, GSFP has organised series of nutrition and innovative training for caterers and head cooks in 11 out of the 16 regions between 2019 and 2020 to enhance the use of alternative sources of protein and local food stuffs. The caterers were trained on how to use green leaves such as kontomire, casava leaf, potato leaf, ayoyo and other local spices such as ginger, onion, garlic which are less expensive and can be found in their communities to prepare different meals.

• Development of GSFP Menu Planner and the Handy Measures which basically guide caterers on how to serve the pupils with the right quality and quantity of meal. It was supported by WFP and Partnership for Child Development (PCD).

● introduced caterers to the use of Soya Chunks also known as Textured Soya Protein (TSP).
 
● Increased the feeding grant per a beneficiary pupil from GHp 0.80 to GHC1.00.

● Distribution of One Hot Nutritious Meal to all Form 3 and Form 2 JHS students and teachers in both public and private schools in Ghana. That initiative benefited about 584,000 students and 146,000 staff in 17,440 Junior High public and private schools nationwide.

It is therefore the hope of many Ghanaians that the full digitization of the operations of GSFP is effectuated before the next academic year, to not only streamline activities, but to also ensure that all deprived children benefit from it.