School Feeding Programme And Educational Outcome In Tema Municipality

ABSTRACT

The Ghana School Feeding Programme is a social intervention to provide deprived pupils in public basic schools one hot nutritious meal a day. The study seeks to find the extent the programme has impacted on academic achievement of pupils. The study was carried out in six basic schools that are participating in the GSFP in the Tema Metropolis. The study combined both secondary and primary data for the investigation. Both primary and secondary data were used for the analysis. Ghana School Feeding Programme has led not only to increase in enrolment but also increase in school attendance. Whereas there has been a steady rise in school attendance, school enrolment has suffered some fluctuations. However, the study found that increase in enrolment is desirable but has increased the work load of teachers thereby affecting their work output. On the other hand, since the inception of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, there has been improvement in the grades obtained by pupils in the respective schools. It is however, worthy of note that such improvement in grades could not solely be due to the introduction of the feeding programme. There has also been a difference in the performance of the pupils in Science which is attributed to the differences in their sex. As part of suggestions to sustain the programme in the Metropolis, non-governmental organisations as well as the Parent-Teacher Associations in the Metropolis are encouraged to take up the running of the programme should the government abandon it; so that poor parents could continue to keep their wards in school.