Former Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has called for a comprehensive review of some university programmes in Ghana, warning that many graduates are leaving tertiary institutions without the practical skills and qualifications needed in the job market.
According to him, unless higher education is deliberately aligned with the country’s manpower needs, graduate unemployment will continue to rise even as more people gain access to tertiary education.
Speaking on the Konnected Minds Podcast, the Bosomtwe Member of Parliament (MP) criticised the growing mismatch between academic programmes and the needs of the economy.
He insisted that universities should focus on training graduates for clearly identified employment opportunities rather than simply increasing student numbers.
He said institutions should base their admissions and programme offerings on proper national labour market assessments.
“You have done a labour needs assessment of your country. You know that the country needs more engineers, medical doctors, and nurses. If you don’t have a labour needs assessment that you are following, then what it means is that you are just educating everyone.”
Dr Adutwum singled out certain programmes for having limited employment prospects for graduates. He specifically mentioned Development Studies at the University for Development Studies (UDS) and BA Education (Non-Teaching) at the University of Ghana.
Recalling concerns he raised while in office, particularly during an address at the annual New Year School, he said:
“When I was the minister, I challenged universities about that. I remember going to the New Year School, and I spoke about how we do not need anybody to offer courses called ‘Development Studies’ to study development. No, and it was being offered at UDS.”
He added that after those remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of UDS contacted him to inform him that a student had withdrawn from the programme.
“I said it’s good for him, it’s good for him, it’s good for him because you know and I know that that course is not taking the student anywhere.”
Dr Adutwum also questioned the value of other similar programmes:
“They have courses called Development Education. It does not qualify the student to teach, and I don’t know what industry or what company is going to employ students who have done Development Education.”
On the BA Education (Non-Teaching) programme at the University of Ghana, he noted that many graduates complete their national service only to face frustration:
“They come and do their national service, and after national service, they are frustrated because nobody is hiring them. So, a university degree to nowhere.”
He alleged that some universities continue to admit students into such programmes simply because they generate revenue.
“They are just filling up the spaces because students are coming and paying money to attend, and the universities like it.”
Dr Adutwum urged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to play a stronger regulatory role by ensuring academic programmes align with the country’s workforce needs and long-term development goals.
He pointed to India’s information technology sector as an example of successful strategic educational planning.
He believes Ghana has several sectors that could absorb skilled graduates if universities tailor their offerings to national priorities.
“The police service needs them, the military needs them, and so many companies. Even if Ghanaian companies do not need them, companies abroad need them, and they will stay in Ghana and work for those.”
The former minister maintained that tackling graduate unemployment requires a fundamental overhaul of the tertiary education system, with a much stronger focus on employability, innovation, science, technology, engineering, and other market-driven fields.
“If you don’t revamp the whole education system and do education to somewhere and not education to nowhere, you cannot confront and solve your graduate unemployment problem,” he added.
Graduate unemployment remains a pressing issue in Ghana, with many experts and employers calling for closer collaboration between universities, industry, and government to better prepare students for the realities of the job market.
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