The Government on Monday rolled out the ‘One hot meal a day’ initiative across about 17,440 schools nationwide to enable the students and teachers to focus in class as they prepare for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Mrs Akosua Frema Opare, the Chief of Staff, and Mrs Cynthia Morrison, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social protection, visited some selected junior high schools in Accra to monitor the provision of the meal to the final year students, their teachers and non-teaching staff.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo initiated the programme after reports that some final year students had been going hungry in complying with the Covid-19 protocols.

The schools visited included Morning Star International School and the Kanda cluster of schools.

Mrs Frema Opare, speaking to the media, said the programme would run till September 18, 2020 when the students were expected to complete their final examination.

She encouraged them to focus on their studies to be able to enjoy the Free Senior High School Policy, saying: "Do not focus so much on social media but rather on your books to pass the exams".

Mrs Morrison, on her part, said her Ministry was collaborating with the Ghana Education Service to iron out any operational challenges in terms of the number of staff in each school.

She said: "Our menu has been slightly changed to incorporate local dishes such as yam and Kontomire stew, banku with okra stew among others."

"In case a child is allergic to a particular meal the school should inform the team so that such children will be given exceptions."

The initiative is being rolled out by the Gender Ministry in collaboration with the ministries of Education, Health and Finance.

Mrs Morrison said they would monitor the about 17,440 schools nationwide that would benefit to ensure that the right food, quantity, and quality were given to the students at the said time.

Nana Abena Kwakyi, the Proprietress of Morning Star International School, expressed gratitude to the Government for the initiative.

Mrs Veronica Dabuoh, the Headmistress of Kanda AMA Basic School, said programme came at the right time as it would enable both the students and teachers to remain focused in class without worrying about where to get food to buy.