By: Jones Anlimah
Education stakeholders in Aponoapono and Jato in the Suhum Municipality of the Eastern Region are calling for the expansion of the government’s School Feeding Programme and increased vocational skills training to address absenteeism and economic hardship in rural schools.
Both communities are participating in Plan International Ghana’s Rooting for Change Project, which is credited with contributing to a reduction in teenage pregnancies over the past year.
At Aponoapono, Headmaster of Aponoapono Presbyterian KG/Primary School, Victor Owusu said poverty remains a major barrier to education. “When we went round to ask why children are not coming to school, the parents told us they don’t have money. Some say if they get money, then the child will come to school,” he explained.
According to the Chairman of the Community Child Protection Committee at Aponoapono, Frank Odoi, redirecting the government’s School feeding programme to rural communities would significantly reduce absenteeism. “All the five schools on this stretch are not under the government school feeding programme, yet this is where the financial challenges are,” he said.
“The school feeding programme should rather come to the grassroots — to the farmers and the less privileged,” he added.
In neighbouring Jato, a cocoa-farming and local gin distilling community of about 1,400 residents, Headmistress of Jato Nina Scott M/A KG/Primary School, Patience Afari, believes practical skills training will empower learners economically.
“They should give us skills like soap making, leather works and bead making to boost the learners so they can fend for themselves and sell to the public,” she noted.
She expressed appreciation to Plan International Ghana and called for the sustainability of the initiative Rooting for Change Project.
Although Aponoapono and Jato are both located just a few kilometres from Suhum, the municipal capital, and have a CHPS compound, both communities face rural development challenges, including reliance on rain-fed agriculture and limited economic diversification.
Stakeholders believe targeted support in school feeding and vocational training will improve attendance, reduce vulnerability, and strengthen community resilience.
