Ministry of Education refutes issues raised in JoyNews documentary

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has refuted issues raised in JoyNews’ documentary, dubbed “Empty Plates”.

In an officially released statement dated March 3, 2024, signed by Kwasi Kwarteng, Spokesperson, MoE said there is no shortage of food in SHSs.

The full statement from MoE read

The Ministry of Education, in response to a recent documentary by JoyNews highlighting concerns about poor feeding and irregular food supply in Senior High Schools, embarked on a comprehensive nationwide visitation and monitoring exercise in collaboration with the media. The objective was to gain a fair understanding of the issues raised and address them appropriately if found to be valid.

Contrary to the narrative portrayed in the documentary mentioned above, our visitation revealed the following key findings:

1. Schools visited and reports from other schools indicated the maintenance of an adequate stock of food in their storage facilities.

2. There is prompt and up-to-date payment of funds allocated for the purchase of perishable food items to all schools.

3. Feedback from heads of schools and students indicates overall satisfaction with the quality and quantity of food being served.

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The Ministry is open to remedying any real anomaly found anywhere and reassures parents, students, and the general public of our unwavering commitment to providing adequate, high-quality, and timely food supplies to ensure an enhanced free and quality Senior High School program.

In the interim, we urge JoyNews to exercise circumspection, fairness, and responsibility in its reportage, particularly when it pertains to the well-being of students.

From the lens of JoyNews

MoE’s release on the topic came days after JoyNews sources confirmed an acute shortage of food items in many Senior High Schools (SHS) across the country.

JoyNews detailed that
“In the investigative documentary, “Empty Plates,” produced by investigative journalist, Kwetey Nartey, students, including some authorities complain about the quantity and quality of food they are presented with.

“For months, parents, teachers, and stakeholders had raised concerns about the alleged shortcomings of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, specifically regarding the provision of three daily hot meals to SHS students free of charge.

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“Subsequently, JoyNews commissioned an independent inquiry into the issues after receiving complaints from parents and individuals about the quantity of food available to students.

“We were not going to take that at face value, so we sent people into the schools to verify, and what we verified and saw is what we have put out. This is just a promo, and we were moved by the core principles of journalism, which is to do what is in the interest of the public,” JoyNews’ Channel Manager, Kwaku Owusu Peprah, explained.

“These are schools from the Northern part of the country to Oti region to Ashanti region – we covered about 10 regions in this documentary and per every research sample size for a country that has 16 regions, this is a good work,” he said.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh