Students of the Mirigu Senior High School (MISCO) in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region have protested against the school’s caterer over the quality of their meals.
According to reports, the caterer who has been tasked to feed students with one hot meal a day under the school feeding program is unable to meet the required standard.
Per reports, students in other schools are enjoying properly cooked meals, unlike the Mirigu school where the food is short of a balanced diet.
Boya Musah, the school caterer, was engaged under the school feeding program with the overall responsibility to cook and serve one hot balanced meal to the students.
She was engaged in 2017 when the Mirigu SHS, a community day school was included in the feeding program.
But exactly a week after the program started, concerns were raised over the quality of the food she cooked for them. They said it was either that the ingredients were not used in the right proportions or the food was not properly cooked.
Speaking to GhanaWeb, the students said asides from the poor quality of the food prepared, the portion of meal served each student is not enough.
Avarikaro Akanladi Morris, the Senior Boys’ Prefect of the school said;
“She will cook the food and when it is not good and we lay the complain to the authorities of the school, they (school authority) always calm us down to eat the food. We always understand them and do what they want. But this time round, we can’t endure the pain again. The woman (school caterer) stopped cooking from Monday and since then as I am talking now, I have not eaten and I am sure all my other colleagues have not eaten too.”
Meanwhile, when GhanaWeb visited the school, the kitchen was locked. Also, inquiries revealed that the caterer had not been to the school or cooked meals for nearly a week.
It was gathered that the caterer abandoned her duties over the continuous calls by students for an improvement in the meals.
It was also gathered that final year students of the school, who are busily writing examinations are the worse affected by the one-week absence of the caterer.
Awobigo Justina, a final year student has called for the intervention of the government.
“I want government to change our matron for us because the way the matron is doing, is as if the school can’t control the matron because she will do whatever that she wants and even she last insulted our headmaster here in front of us.”
However, the school is currently faced with some infrastructural challenges.
Some projects including a two-storey 12-unit classroom block, a two-storey administration block with an ICT lab and library are yet to be completed.
