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Photo of schoolboys using cement blocks as desks from Ghana, not Nigeria

A photo of schoolboys sitting on cement blocks and using more blocks as desks in a half-built classroom was shared on Facebook in Nigeria on 19 November 2019.

The caption reads: “This is what you have when a country is run by people who are best suited for cattle rearing with a certificate-less Sudanese impostor as the figurehead. This is what your education has turned into. Meanwhile, N100 billion is allocated to Myetti Allah.”

Does the photo show a school in Nigeria?



Kids wearing Ghana’s public school uniform


A reverse image search and other clues reveal that the photo was taken in Ghana.

In July it was posted on Twitter by a Ghanian radio station, Joy 99.7 FM, in an appeal.

The tweet reads: “A benevolent Ghanaian wants to provide furniture to this school. Please help us with the exact location and if possible, a contact to follow up. Please, share!”

And the kids in the photo are wearing the “brown and yellow khaki school uniform” of Ghana’s junior secondary schools.

According to Pulse, a Ghanaian news site, the uniform is “locally referred to as konkonte and nkate nkwan (groundnut soup) and worn by pupils at the basic level in public schools”. It was “introduced over 30 years ago by the government”.

In April Ghana’s education department announced that the uniform would be changed in the 2019/20 academic year.

Plenty of photos posted online by reputable sites show that the kids in the Facebook post are wearing the khaki yellow and brown uniform – soon to be replaced – of Ghana’s public schools.

We found no evidence that the photo was taken in Nigeria. – Jennifer Ojugbeli




 

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