From May 8, 2022, over ten thousand teacher trainees from different colleges of education will have to feed themselves.
However, owing to massive government debt, PINCOF believes it cannot continue to feed the trainees.
The Executive Secretary of PRINCOF, Dr. Harriet Naki Amui, wrote to the Minister of Education on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, directing that if finances are not made available, teacher trainees must cover their own food by May 8.
The incapacity of colleges of education to pay for meals has compelled this regulation. After months of not being paid, food providers withdrew their services until they were paid.
In order to supply students with three (3) meals each day, most colleges now have food products that barely last one week.
The PRINCOF statement made the following four suggestions on April 23.
For one week, from April 23 to 30, 2022, trainee teachers will be given two meals, breakfast and supper, but only lunch from May 1 to 8, 2022, and will be asked to provide their own meals until their feeding allowances are paid, and finally, “food vendors will be encouraged to increase the quantity of daily meals they cook for students”.
The statement noted that “all of these efforts are intended to prevent academic calendar disruption”.