Gombe State Ministry of Education has refuted allegations of underfeeding students at Government Girls Mega College, Doma. The ministry attributes the complaints, reportedly made by some final-year students, to disruptions caused by the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) timetable.

According to Saidu Malala, Special Assistant on Media to the Gombe State Ministry of Education, students are provided with meals three times daily. He stated that the state government recently distributed non-perishable food items to boarding schools across the state to ensure adequate feeding.

Malala explained that the issue arises because the Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) students are participating in the WAEC examinations. The examination schedule often clashes with the school's regular feeding times. For instance, the first paper commences at 10 am, which coincides with breakfast, and the second paper around noon or 1 pm, leading to lunch being served as late as 5 pm. Dinner is typically served at 6:30 pm.

"Unfortunately, they can't eat then until they are through with the first paper," Malala said, further explaining that "it's because of the examination schedule that they don't receive their lunch until 5 p.m., but they receive dinner around 6:30 p.m.".

The ministry has investigated the claims by contacting relevant school authorities and found no evidence of underfeeding. "As far as I'm concerned, we don't have any case of underfeeding," Malala insisted.

He also noted that the large student population at Government Girls Mega College, Doma, which has approximately 500 SS3 students out of a total of 1,834, makes it difficult to prepare separate meals for examination candidates during the testing period.

While the ministry denies widespread underfeeding, some students have reported going without meals for extended periods during the examinations, expressing concerns about hunger and potential health issues.