Sep 22, 2026
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has assured Senior High School (SHS) students across the country that adequate provisions have been made to ensure uninterrupted feeding as schools reopen for the 2026/2027 academic year.Government
The Minister also announced that President John Dramani Mahama has directed a review of the SHS menu to improve the quality and nutritional value of meals served to students, including the provision of eggs and chicken.
Mr Iddrisu gave the assurance during visits to Asankragwa Senior High School and Asankragwa Senior High Technical School in the Western Region on Friday, September 18, 2026, as students reported for the new academic year.
“I will follow further to examine the data, and then we’ll ensure that you don’t lack food. We make adequate provision for your meals. I’m happy to announce that President John Dramani Mahama has directed that we review your menu to make it better,” he said.
“We’re introducing eggs and chicken as part of your menu,” he added.
The Education Minister is visiting rural and Category C schools across the country to assess how students are reporting on the first day of the academic year, examine the facilities available to them and identify areas requiring attention as the government takes steps to upgrade school infrastructure and improve the learning environment.
The visits are also providing the Ministry with an opportunity to engage school authorities and students directly on challenges affecting teaching, learning and student welfare.Education
The assurance on feeding comes amid the government’s efforts to address challenges associated with the implementation of the Free Senior High School programme and ensure that students receive adequate and nutritious meals.
For the 2026 fiscal year, the government has allocated GH¢4.2 billion for feeding under the Free SHS programme, as part of a total allocation of GH¢9.6 billion to support the programme.
The government says the increased attention to feeding forms part of broader measures to improve the quality of Free SHS and ensure that students can learn in an environment where their basic welfare needs are adequately addressed.
Source:https://www.citinewsroom.com/
Sep 18, 2026
President John Mahama has held discussions with the Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation, Makhtar Diop, on strengthening Ghana’s economy through strategic partnerships and private-sector investment.
The meeting at the Presidency on Wednesday focused on scaling up commercial agriculture, particularly in cocoa, oil palm and poultry, as well as government’s policy to process at least 50 percent of Ghana’s cocoa beans, other agricultural produce and minerals locally.
The discussions also covered the expansion of Ghana’s transport infrastructure, including railways, aviation, and roads, under the Big Push Infrastructure Development programme, alongside efforts to improve digital connectivity.
Energy and education were also identified among the key sectors requiring continued investment and support.
President Mahama, who was joined by the Chief of Staff and the Ministers for Finance, Energy and Trade, highlighted what he described as a positive economic turnaround driven by prudent economic management and fiscal discipline.
He said the measures have contributed to a significant decline in inflation, reduced national indebtedness, and renewed investor confidence.
As part of efforts to transform the economy and strengthen human capital, President Mahama announced that Ghana has secured a 300-million-dollar World Bank financing package to support the permanent elimination of the double-track system in Senior High Schools by the end of 2027.
The IFC Managing Director, Makhtar Diop, commended President Mahama for his commitment to economic reforms and expressed the Corporation’s readiness to support Ghana’s commercial agriculture sector and broader efforts to build a resilient and sustainable economy.
Sep 17, 2026
Ghana’s newest public institution of higher learning, the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences (UEAS), has pledged to train engineers and agricultural scientists who will blend expertise to create a unique value chain from agriculture to agribusiness.
“We want to train industry-ready engineers and agricultural scientists to help with the industrialisation of the nation, address food security and create jobs for the youth,” the Vice-Chancellor of UEAS, Professor Mark Adom-Asamoah, told the Daily Graphic in Accra.
Located at Bunso in the Eastern Region, it is the first fully-fledged university that integrates engineering, agricultural science, innovation and entrepreneurship to train hands-on industry-ready graduates in agriculture and engineering.
UEAS is set up under the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026 (Act 1169).
The university aims to become a centre of excellence in engineering innovation and agro-entrepreneurship, and the leading institution of its kind in Africa.
Prof. Adom-Asamoah, who led a three-member delegation of UEAS to pay a courtesy call on the Editor, Graphic, Theophilus Yartey, said the university had been designed to respond to some of the major development challenges confronting the country, particularly industrialisation, food security and youth unemployment.
Unlike the conventional approach where students in different disciplines are trained separately, the Vice-Chancellor said the university would deliberately bring engineering and agricultural science students together to develop practical solutions to agriculture and agribusiness.
The well-planned university’s campus at Bunso has been developed with a $92-million Korean Exim Bank loan.
With facilities, including faculty buildings, two major buildings for classes, laboratories, an administration block, a library, halls of residence and staff accommodation, Prof. Adom-Asamoah described the campus as the best-planned university campus in the country.
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, inaugurated the Governing Council and the Core Management Team of UEAS on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, with a mandate to officially operationalise the University for the 2026/2027 academic year.
Before the end of the year, President Mahama is expected to inaugurate the university, which will admit its first cohort of students next month. Follow Federal Policy
The university will initially operate two schools — the School of Engineering and the School of Agricultural Science.
The School of Engineering will offer Bachelor of Science programmes in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering.
The School of Agricultural Science will offer programmes such as Agronomy, Animal Science, Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, and Food Technology and Nutrition Science
This means students of agriculture would do core courses such as agronomy from the first year through to the fourth year, unlike traditional universities where students electe to study courses or select their majors only after the first year.
Training
Prof. Adom-Asamoah explained that the university’s Innovation Centre, for instance, would serve as a major platform for students to combine knowledge from engineering and agriculture to develop new technologies and solutions.
He indicated that students would have access to machinery and other facilities at the centre to conduct experiments, design and develop innovations.
The Vice-Chancellor explained that in developing smart agriculture systems, for instance, engineering students would develop the technology for irrigation, while agricultural science students would provide the technical knowledge on when crops required water based on factors such as temperature and other agronomic conditions.
“That is called smart agriculture. So, we want to bring all of them together,” he said.
Prof. Adom-Asamoah said the approach was intended to move tertiary education beyond the traditional emphasis on theoretical knowledge to equipping students with the ability to apply what they learnt to solve practical national problems.
Entrepreneurship
The Vice-Chancellor said another feature that would distinguish the university was the strong emphasis on entrepreneurship and leadership development.
He said the university would, therefore, introduce a residential system, modelled on systems used by institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge universities and some universities in the United States.
Under the system, students would receive additional training outside the conventional classroom curriculum in areas such as time management, financial management, peaceful coexistence and constructive argument.
For his part, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of UEAS, Prof. Dominic Otoo, said the institution’s visit to the Graphic Communications Group Ltd was intentional as part of efforts to seek media support for its programmes and activities.
The Registrar, Dr Paul Kwadwo Addo, also said all the programmes offered by UEAS had been duly accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
He said the UEAS had assembled experienced academics from existing public universities, stressing that UEAS would not become a “trial and error” institution.
Graphic
Mr Yartey said partnerships and collaborations underlay Graphic’s 76 years existence and stood ready to work with the university for their mutual benefits.
“We also collaborate with other corporate bodies, and that is why we have the Stanbic-Graphic Business Breakfast Meeting, which is held four times a year,” he said.
“People can vouch for our credibility which we don’t take for granted,” Mr Yartey said, adding that the company had evolved into a major player in the digital space.
Sep 17, 2026
Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, says the Volta Region holds enormous agricultural potential and efforts must be geared towards connecting farmers to the needed resources to unlock that potential.
He said focus must be on linking farmers to resources, technology, financing and markets to increase production, create jobs and build sustainable livelihoods.
Hon. Gunu made the remarks at the national launch of the Ghana Tomato Self-Sufficiency Initiative (GHATSI) held at Anloga in the Volta Region on Tuesday, September 15.
The initiative, under the theme “Produce at Home. Feed the Nation. Export the Surplus,” seeks to boost local tomato production, processing and marketing while reducing Ghana’s heavy reliance on imported tomatoes.
The launch was attended by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, his Deputy, John Setor Dumelo, Feed Ghana Coordinator, Bright Demordzi, Members of Parliament, traditional leaders, MMDCEs, farmers and other stakeholders.
Mr.Gunu expressed appreciation to the Minister for Food and Agriculture for the support announced for the region, including two excavators, 200 cartons of organic fertiliser, and GH¢200,000 for Ms. Kuatudzo Esther Dela, a tomato farmer and processor from Ziope.
He described the initiative as an important step towards making agriculture a stronger driver of food security, job creation and economic growth in the Volta Region.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Source:https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/
Sep 17, 2026
The government has allocated GH¢1.982 billion to the Ghana School Feeding Programme for 2026, with more than 4.5 million schoolchildren now receiving a hot meal every school day.
Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, said the programme currently covers 4,527,636 children, up from 4,029,580 in 2024.
She said the expansion demonstrates the government’s commitment to improving child nutrition while supporting school attendance and retention.
Dr Lartey said the allocation for the programme had increased from GH¢1.393 billion in 2024 to GH¢1.788 billion in 2025 and GH¢1.982 billion this year.
The feeding grant has also risen from GH¢1.50 to GH¢2 per child. “The amount used to be GH¢1.50 and that has been increased to GH¢2.”
She said government had also cleared caterer arrears from 2024 and paid the first and second terms of the 2025/26 academic year.
Monitoring has been expanded from 4,419 schools in 2025 to 8,270 this year, while 20,171 caterers and head cooks have received training in practical nutrition standards.
Dr Lartey has previously stressed that the government would not compromise on the quality and nutritional value of meals served to children.
Source:https://www.myjoyonline.com
