When One Canera Spoke Up: How The1957News and Hon Haruna Iddrisu Turned the Light on Peki SHTS

In Ghana, some of the most important conversations do not start in Parliament. They start on a phone camera, in a dormitory corridor, in a toilet block that hasn’t seen running water in weeks.

That is exactly what happened at Peki Senior High Technical School in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region, when blogger and citizen journalist The1957News released a documentary exposing what students and teachers had endured in silence for years: crumbling classrooms, leaking roofs, and most disturbingly, deplorable sanitary conditions.

The footage was raw. No filters. No political gloss. It showed students queuing to use bathrooms that were overflowing, and dormitories with poor ventilation and broken facilities. It showed a school with potential — bright students in uniform, teachers trying their best but weighed down by infrastructure that had been neglected for far too long.

Within days, the video made its way to the office of the Minister for Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu. To his credit, the Minister did not dismiss it as “propaganda” or “one-sided content.” He watched it, acknowledged it, and pledged to intervene. That response matters.

In a time when many public officials are quick to attack the messenger, Hon. Iddrisu chose to address the message. By pledging government action for Peki SHTS, he has affirmed a simple truth: that the job of leadership is to fix what is broken, not to hide it.

We must commend both parties here.
First, The1957News has shown that journalism, at its core, is about holding power to account and giving voice to the voiceless. The blogger did what many big media houses and other bloggers often fail to do — go to the ground, listen to students, and show us what the brochures don’t. The risk in doing such work in Ghana is real. Citizen journalists are often labelled as troublemakers, as “anti-government,” or as seeking clout. But The1957News chose public interest over personal comfort. Because of that documentary, parents of Peki SHTS students now know their children’s reality. Because of that documentary, the Ministry of Education can no longer say “we did not know.” That is the power of truth-telling.

Hon. Haruna Iddrisu also deserves commendation for pledging to tackle the problem.. A pledge is only the first step, but it is a crucial one. By responding promptly and publicly, the Minister has signalled that government is listening. Students deserve schools with dignity. Sanitation is not a luxury; it is a basic requirement for health, for learning, and for the self-respect of every child who wears that Peki SHTS uniform. If the promised intervention leads to renovated toilets, repaired classrooms, and improved water supply, then this will be a case study in how digital accountability can produce real results.

However, this moment also forces us to confront an uncomfortable contrast in Ghana’s media space today.

For every The1957News that chooses to expose a problem, there are bloggers and influencers who have chosen a different path: to become the PR department of government.

We have all seen them. The moment a minister visits a school, they post 20 photos of handshake and ribbon-cutting. The moment one classroom block is painted, they declare that “education infrastructure has been completely transformed.” They exaggerate performance, cherry-pick statistics, and attack anyone who dares to present a balanced report.

This is not journalism. This is public relations with a smartphone.

The danger of such content is that it creates a false reality. It tells a parent in Peki that everything is fine, when the toilets are still broken. It tells a student that government has “done enough,” when dormitories still leak when it rains. It reduces complex problems to press statements, and in doing so, it betrays the very public it claims to serve.

A democracy cannot survive on press releases alone. It needs balance. It needs people willing to say, “Yes, this project is good,” and also, “But this other place is suffering.” That is what The1957News did. They did not say Peki SHTS has no good teachers. They did not say the government has done nothing for education. They simply showed one school, one problem, and asked for action. That is balance.

To the bloggers doing PR: Ghana deserves better from you. You have platforms, followers, and influence. Use it to amplify both progress and problems. Commend government when it works, yes. But also visit the schools that were not on the tour list. Ask the questions that were not in the press briefing. Your credibility, and ultimately your relevance, depends on it.

To Hon. Haruna Iddrisu and the Ministry: Ghanaians are watching. The pledge to Peki SHTS must be followed by visible action, timelines, and accountability. Send contractors. Release funds. Return in 3 months with another camera and show us the “after.” Let this not be another promise that dies in the news cycle.

To The1957News: Thank you. Thank you for remembering that behind every statistic is a student. Thank you for proving that one person with a phone can still move a nation.

Peki SHTS is not an isolated case. Across Ghana, there are schools with similar stories. But maybe this is how change starts — one documentary, one honest minister, one community at a time.

If we want an education system we can be proud of, we need more truth-tellers and fewer spin doctors. We need more leaders who respond like Hon. Iddrisu, and more citizens and bloggers who report like The1957News.

Because our children are not waiting for perfect PR. They are waiting for working toilets, safe classrooms, and a government that listens.

And today, because one blogger decided to speak up, Peki’s children are one step closer to getting it.

The author is a regular contributor to News Commentary, a current affairs programme with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, and a columnist with Modern Ghana, an esteemed online news portal.

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