Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has backed student Richlove Oduro, arguing her 2024 viral remarks on the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) exposed real flaws in Ghana’s education system.
Writing during the debate her interview triggered, Awuni said he counted himself a fan of the NSMQ and praised its producers for sustaining the contest for decades, but warned against treating it as the final word on school quality. “NSMQ is not the yardstick for measuring the best schools in Ghana,” he wrote, noting that the country’s most respected senior high school, Wesley Girls’ High School, has never won it.
He argued the quiz rewards memorisation and quick recall, and that brilliant science students whose strengths lie elsewhere may never feature on the show. Citing an account by quiz mistress Dr Elsie Kaufmann that some Ghanaian champions struggled at a practical competition abroad, he framed the gap as an indictment of the education system rather than of the students.
Awuni also amplified Oduro’s point about inequality, saying pupils in elite schools often arrive with strong foundations from top private institutions, while talented students in less resourced schools rarely get the same chance. He claimed that wealthier families sometimes buy admission for under-qualified children, adding that he had led journalists to document evidence of the practice.
While defending her, he acknowledged Oduro’s comments were boastful and that some of her claims were debatable, urging the public to neither weaponise her interview against the NSMQ nor make her a target. Critics at the time pushed back, noting that Nsein SHS had in fact participated in the competition and arguing she had unfairly downplayed its value.
