School Feeding In Ghana:Operational Challenges And Their Impact On Enrolment And Attendance

The main aim of this study was to assess the operational challenges of the school feeding programme and its impact on enrolment and attendance in the Northern Region of Ghana.The review of relevant literature per this study found out that the operational challenges within the school feeding programme included political interference in beneficiary public basic school and caterer recruitment.This affected the programme objective of increasing enrolment and attendance.Again the literature found out that the non-involvement of the Ghana Education Service and the teacher retards the efforts of the school feeding programme to better enhance the chances of increasing enrolment and attendance.This has also led to the establishment and involvement of parallel institutions like the school feeding secretariat and the local government service in the implementation process respectively.These challenges found little or no space in many of the studies in the area of school feeding research.The study looked in to some of the reasons for the recruitment of schools and caterers and how it affects the operations of the school feeding programme.Also looked at is how these recruitments denied the extreme poor the benefits of the programme.It also denied poor children their basic human right as citizens of the state called Ghana.To better examine the challenges,the study used the multi-stage cluster sampling technique in the selection of respondents.This was followed with the application of questionnaire,observation and interviews with the help of interview guides in the data collection process.The successful data collection was followed with the use of the Statistical Package for Social Scientists in the analysis.Results were also aided with the use of cross tabulation and regression in the presentation of the quantitative data.The qualitative data was analysed using open coding to identify themes.This was used to support the quantitative data and to give meaning to some of the emerging variables.The study found out that the interference or involvement of politics in the recruitment of public basic schools and caterers have an inverse relationship in the delivery of the school feeding programme which in turn negatively affects the chances of increasing enrolment and attendance.It is also confirmed that the Ghana Education Service and the teacher have a strong prediction capacity of increasing enrolment and attendance.When they are given the opportunity to fully take control of the operations of the school feeding programme they will impact positively on programme operations as well as enhance enrolment and attendance.The Ghana education Service was found to have had the necessary operational structures in place to better operate the programme than the current use of the local government system and the school feeding secretariat.Teachers at their various schools showed a greater concern for their lack of total control,frequent change in caterers,lack of monitoring,insufficient food supply,inexperience of caterers and the unreliable supply of food to children all affected the efficient delivery of the programme to the school child.To better understand how best to tackle the operational challenges of the Ghana school feeding programme,the study used the case of the Deng Fei school lunch scheme in China.This scheme was able to raised confidence of donor partners,involved necessary stakeholders including teachers,parents and the China education service which resulted in the effective operations of the Deng Fei school lunch scheme.From the experience of this scheme,recommendations are made to improve on the operations of the Ghana school feeding programme.In addition to enhancing the operations of the programme in Ghana,a new operational structure is proposed for the better administration of the Ghana school feeding programme.