Restructuring Ghana University 

E. Ablorh-Odjidja

July 28, 2013

Now and then institutions do restructure to be more current and effective. The latest to announce that objective is the University of Ghana, Legon (UG).

Professor Ernest Aryeetey, the Vice-Chancellor announced on Friday, July 26, 2013, that “The University of Ghana (UG) is being restructured into a full-fledged research university with the primary aim of examining problems confronting the nation and finding solutions to them.”

A refreshing thought and a welcoming idea, but also sounds like something that ought to have been the goal of this institution right at inception. Now we must wait to see how our government reacts to this idea.

Our government’s ability to meddle in the educational system has been nothing short of disastrous. 

There was one for shortening the high school years, from four to three, in 2009.  It turned out to be a hare-brained idea.  But it helped to quicken the dumbing down of the quality of education in the school system; all just to benefit the interest of a political party in power.

Moving on to our tertiary education system, especially with types like Legon University, the government has largely been the patron. It is the agency that pays most of the bills for such universities.

Despite the largesse, the government is also in a key position to harm these institutions with the bad educational policies it injects downstream into the overall school system. 

When it reduces the duration of the high school years, this results in ill-prepared secondary students entering the tertiary system.  And the tertiary institutions get hurt in terms of the poor material that is dumped into them.

The importance of education for the masses is obvious.  But policies for this purpose must be clarified and first deemed worthy for the goal of excellence.  Hurrying pupils out of high school to save money or justify political ends must not be one of these policies.

A Third World nation like ours needs an education system that is geared for the growth of the nation; not a conveyor belt that hurries students with no marketable skills into the marketplace. 

So, the structuring at Legon must proceed, even if late.  But first, there is the necessity to educate our politicians about the need for reform, not only at the university level but throughout the entire educational system.

“As part of the restructuring process, the University has been divided into four main colleges ... the College of Health Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Humanities and College of Education,” the statement from Legon says.

The word "applied," from Legon, sounds promising when attached to the sciences.  But in a "practical" sense, all levels within the four colleges of the university must feel the same impact. And so must it be at all tertiary institutions in Ghana.

The University of Ghana (UG) was founded in 1948.   Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) came on stream in 1952.   Together, the two gained full-fledged university status in 1961. 

There is something amiss here.  Legon had to wait for some 60 years to come up with this brand-new restructuring idea?

Legon and KNUST have produced many of our prominent professionals and executives.  However, judging by the state we are in today as a nation, it can be argued that these institutions, though doted on through the years, have not fully met our developmental needs or expectations.

Perhaps, the impact that is lacking from our tertiary institutions can be seen in the sum of what Vice-Chancellor Ayittey has just proposed.

As far back as the 16th century, Francis Bacon, a renowned scholar, and scientist suggested that education should be practical.  So intent was he on the practical side that he was said to have contracted pneumonia while studying how to freeze meat.  He died in his quest for that scientific innovation.

Some may sneer at the hard-nosed intent of Francis Bacon.  But what not to laugh at is the idea that education must be applied to ur everyday realities. 

 And precisely for that end, it can be said that there has never been a shortage of problems in our country that could engage the higher minds in our universities.  But the response to these has been either minimal or absent.

Else why should the Vice-Chancellor appeal to the notion of “applied” in his restructuring?

He said, “the University had relied on the state to fund its projects through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) ….” and implied that new sources must be found to complete the funding package.

The dilemma is clear.  In a way, he has to appeal to the political class, the majority of who will never see the same need.  There was a proposal on the table to remove private universities from the tax-exempt status.  It has never occurred to some of this honorable class of politicians that the tax exemption alone may not be enough to run a viable university.

What is on offer in the Vice-Chancellor’s proposal of the “applied” is an organic self-supporting idea that must come from both the government and tertiary institutions.

One idea could be to allow tertiary educational institutions to compete for public business and contracts within the economy; even if the government must demand that partnership between private companies and expertise from tertiary institutions be a condition to meet in any public contractual bid.

There is a treasure trove In public sector contracts.  Ghana's government awards yearly tons of wealth through contracts with foreign companies for developmental projects.

Roads, railroads, seaports, houses, and bridges are built mostly by foreign companies.  The Chinese, Koreans, and Europeans bid for contracts within our economy. In the end, a good chunk of the funding is exported.   There is the opportunity here for our tertiary institution to “apply” what they teach by being present on these jobs!

For example, major construction work like the building of the Bush Highway could have a participation condition; that a portion of the contractual budget is reserved for civil engineering institutions in the country.

A project like Hope City is estimated at $10 billion US worth. When structured as suggested above, it could yield the same dividends for local tertiary institutions.

There are many useful things that our universities can do on their own now - from building simple roads and bridges in villages, providing fieldwork for the eradication of mosquitoes, harvesting rain to drawing extra energy from the sun to add to our power grids – all on contracts with the government.

Qualified tertiary institutions get to compete for state-initiated projects either on their own or in partnership with bigger companies, including foreign ones.  In the process, they get tested for competence and acquire new expertise while growing revenue for the institution's budget.

In such an “applied” system, professors will not be ivory tower bound.  They and their students become subjects of the “applied.”  The professors get to keep fresh the skills they teach.  And the students, especially those in their final years, get footholds in the professions of their choice.

The participation may be small, as low as 3% of the overall contract value, but the returns would be bigger and cumulative over the years.

The government gets to win too.  In the case of foreign contracts, it gets to plow back some profits from payments that otherwise would have gone out of the country. 

This approach will help to lower the government expenditure burden that goes to support the universities while the tertiary institutions get to fatten their budget though the "applied" participation in the government's contracts or projects.

Perhaps, this policy is already in practice.  Still, one would be happy to note when passing on highways billboards that state that budding engineers from our tertiary institutions helped to build some of our roadways, harbors, and airports.

Hopefully, a vocal voice like Vice-Chancellor Ayittey will be heard.

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, publisher, www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, July 28, 2013

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