Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, has announced that the government will suspend feeding allowances for teacher trainees in colleges of education across Ghana.
The decision was revealed during a meeting with the principals of various colleges of education in Accra.
Iddrisu explained that the government could no longer sustain the feeding program, describing it as unsustainable and not in line with global best practices in higher education. He emphasized that it should not be the government’s responsibility to provide feeding for tertiary students.
The minister outlined plans to replace the feeding allowance with an enhanced student loan scheme, which would help students cover their living expenses, including meals.
This transition, he noted, is a necessary step to ensure the sustainability of government spending in the educational sector while also fostering a sense of independence among teacher trainees.
“There is no way you should be feeding a student at the tertiary level so we have to work out a transition from the allowance into an enhanced student loan for them to feed themselves.
“But in the interim, they will still get the allowances. I cannot conceive of a student in a higher education institution being fed.”
