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Government has released some GH₵ 67,942,652.00 as balance due for the feeding of students in the public colleges of education across the country.

This comes after the National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF), directed teacher trainees to fund their feeding effective Sunday, May 8, 2022.

According to PRINCOF, the directive followed the failure of Colleges of Education to pay for food items supplied to them over a period due to the unavailability of funds from government.

However, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, has served notice that government has since disbursed funds to cater for the feeding of teacher trainees.

“Government through the Ministry of Education has this afternoon released an amount of Ghc67,942,652.00 to the Colleges of Education to cater for their feeding balance due,” the PRO stated in a Facebook post on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

PRINCOF had noted in its statement that although prices of food items have gone up and a request from PRINCOF for an upward review of students’ feeding fees payable to Principals had not been approved yet, it had still managed to provide some quality Meals, three times a day, for students.

“It has now come to a point where suppliers have backed their threats of not supplying any food items to Colleges, with concrete action by not supplying Colleges with any food items until they have been paid money owed them.”

The statement further said “Most Colleges now have food items that can last only one week if students are to be provided with three meals a day. To this end, and in order that the 2021/2022 academic year, which is already very tight, is not disrupted. PRINCOF has come up with the schedule below, which it feels would help keep students on campus 1. Trainee Teachers will be provided with two meals, breakfast and supper only, for one week, from April 23 to April 30, 2022. 2. Trainee Teachers, from May 1 to May 8, 2022, shalt be given lunch only.”