Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, has clarified that the government has not reversed its decentralised feeding policy for Senior High Schools (SHS), following growing public concerns over recent remarks made by Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu.
His comments come after the Minister hinted at the possibility of reintroducing a centralised food supply system for SHSs — a practice the current administration has committed to abolishing if re-elected.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, June 27, 2025, Dr. Apaak reaffirmed that school managers currently maintain full authority over procuring all food items — both perishables and non-perishables — based on a list of 18 approved items.
“Currently, the managers of the schools have been given the authority to procure 100% of the feeding needs of the students,” he said.
“That includes perishables and non-perishables. The only reason why the minister made that statement is that we have also picked up information that some managers of some schools are not applying the resources satisfactorily.”
He explained that the decentralised model was established to ensure quality, timely, and efficient delivery of meals to students. However, recent reports — including a video reportedly shared by President Mahama with the Minister — have raised concerns about misapplication of funds by some school heads.
“Reports that we have received, including a video that the president sent to the minister, clearly gave us some form of confirmation that the rumours we were picking up — that some heads were not applying the money in the way we expected — were true,” he revealed.
Dr. Apaak assured the public that the government remains fully committed to the decentralised policy and will enforce stricter accountability measures to uphold the quality and integrity of the school feeding programme.