CHASS Warns of Possible Shutdown of Senior High Schools as Feeding Crisis Worsens.
The Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme is currently under renewed strain after talks between the Ministry of Education and key implementing bodies collapsed on Friday, 17 April 2026.
A meeting convened by Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu to resolve mounting challenges within the school feeding system ended without agreement, as stakeholders failed to arrive at a workable consensus.
The engagement brought together the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), the National Food Buffer Stock Company, and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). Despite the high-level participation, discussions broke down over critical operational issues.
The main sticking point centred on the procurement of perishable food items such as meat, eggs, and vegetables, whose supply has become increasingly inconsistent amid funding delays and rising market prices.
In an effort to ease the pressure on schools, the Minister proposed that GETFund should support an arrangement allowing CHASS to directly source these items. However, the proposal did not secure agreement among the parties involved, resulting in a stalemate.
The impasse follows earlier concerns raised by CHASS and the Conference of Principals of Technical Institutions (COPTI), who had petitioned authorities over worsening conditions in the feeding arrangement.
School heads are reportedly operating under severe financial constraints, as supplies from the National Food Buffer Stock Company continue to decline while inflation further stretches already limited budgets. In several cases, headteachers are said to be relying on personal funds and informal credit arrangements with suppliers to sustain student meals.
With the breakdown in negotiations, CHASS has cautioned that secondary schools may be compelled to suspend operations if urgent financial support is not provided to address the procurement gap for essential food items.
Such an outcome would represent a significant disruption to the Free SHS policy and could affect academic continuity, including preparations for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), for over 1.2 million students nationwide.
Stakeholders are expected to reconvene in the coming days in an attempt to chart a sustainable and coordinated solution to the deepening challenges within the school feeding system.