All final year Junior High School (JHS) students and staff in both public and private schools across Ghana are to be provided with one hot meal a day to enable them fully comply with COVID-19 safety protocols as they prepare for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in September.

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is to begin preparations to ensure that from August 24 up to September 18, 2020 by which time this year's BECE being organised by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) would have ended, the students and staff would be provided with one hot meal a day.

In his 15th national address on measures being taken against the spread of COVID-19 on Sunday night [August 16, 2020], President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said he has received reports that the students and their staff were going hungry in complying with the COVID-19 safety protocols.

"As a result of reports I have recently received that some final year JHS students were going hungry, in complying with COVID-19 protocols, I have just instructed the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection to begin preparations to ensure that from 24th August up to 18th September all 584,000 final JHS students and 146,000 staff both in public and private schools be given one hot meal a day. This is to ensure full observance of the COVID-19 safety protocols," the president said.