Defending the amendment during the second reading, Haruna Iddrisu said the earlier requirement under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020 (Act 1023) created significant challenges for many private institutions.

He explained that historically, a Presidential Charter had never been compulsory under the former National Accreditation Board, but was optional for institutions capable of operating independently.

Mr. Iddrisu noted that the previous requirement also placed heavy financial pressure on institutions due to high fees paid to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission.

According to him, enforcing the rule could have forced several private universities to shut down, potentially affecting thousands of students across the country.

The amendment now allows private universities to apply for a charter only when they are ready to operate independently and award their own degrees and diplomas.

Mr. Iddrisu assured that regulatory oversight and quality assurance would still be maintained by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission through institutional accreditation, programme approval, and academic audits.

The government says the reform is part of broader efforts to strengthen Ghana’s tertiary education sector while recognising the important role private institutions play in expanding access to higher education.

President of Neumann University College, Rev. Dr. John Osei Appiah, believes such relief will empower private tertiary institutions to expand their infrastructure and complement government’s efforts in providing quality higher education.

Speaking to JoyNews at the college’s joint graduation and matriculation ceremony at Atwima Takyiman in the Kwadaso Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Dr. Osei Appiah also appealed for the inclusion of private universities in government’s policy of absorbing fees for first-year students.

According to him, easing the financial pressures on private institutions will help bridge educational gaps, create more access for young people, and strengthen Ghana’s human resource base.

“We appeal to the government to reduce the high fees private tertiary educational institutions, including the Neumann College, pay yearly to these government institutions such as the affiliate mentoring institution fees, and the accreditation of courses fees,” he said.

Dr. Osei Appiah further backed Ghana’s initiative to export trained nurses to foreign countries, describing it as a pragmatic approach to job creation and foreign exchange generation.

He observed that Ghana’s economic reliance on gold and cocoa exports is unsustainable in the long term.

“We can not only depend on gold and cocoa for export and foreign exchange earnings. We can also demand on other services, like exporting professionals for foreign exchange. Gold, especially, is a finite resource. We must diversify our exports, and human capital is one of our greatest assets,” he stated.

Encouraging the graduating students, Dr. Osei Appiah urged them to uphold integrity and professionalism as they enter the world of work, reminding them that “service to mankind is service to God.”

Source: Isaac Normenyo

This was at a ceremony at the Jubilee House, Thursday.

President Akufo-Addo said the presentation of the charters means the two universities “are going to transition into autonomous Universities, with the capacity, now, to award their own degrees and diplomas.”

It also underscores the government’s commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and nation-building.

The institutions include; the National Defence College, KAAF University College, Heritage Christian University College, Ensign Global College, University College of Gold Coast, Knutsford University College and Thrivus Institute for Biomedical Sciences and Technology.

The rest are; Nobel International Business School, Entrance University College of Health Sciences, Accra Metropolitan University College, African University College of Communications, Garden City University College, Family Health University College and Academic City University College.

The President described the event as a “transformative milestone in the history of our nation’s tertiary education landscape.”

He lauded the vision and perseverance of the institutions, stating that the recognition reflects their dedication to meeting the highest standards in education.

“The grant of a Presidential Charter represents the highest recognition that a tertiary institution in Ghana can achieve.

It is the result of a rigorous process, as each university college must meet stringent criteria established by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, GTEC, comprising excellence in governance, quality assurance, academic delivery, research, and community engagement,” the President wrote on Facebook.

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Speaking at the 15th congregation of the University College, Prof. Adimado said such allocations will help address the infrastructural challenges that private universities grapple with.

“It is our fervent prayer that private universities in Ghana would also be beneficiaries of GETFund,” he said.

To help actualize the University College’s vision, Prof. Adimado also appealed to corporate bodies and individuals for assistance.

“Donation of books and other learning materials, sponsorship of students for degree programmes in the university…partnerships of individuals, corporate bodies and organisations in various areas will also be needed”.

He called for further support in other areas such as; “Institution of prizes and awards for outstanding students and staff, and the provision of student hostels under Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreements or in equitable partnerships.”

The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), is a public trust set up by an Act of Parliament in the year 2000. Its core mandate is to provide funding to supplement government effort for the provision of educational infrastructure and facilities within the public sector from the pre-tertiary to the tertiary level.

But some players in the private tertiary sector in particular have consistently called on the government to amend the law setting up the fund to accommodate private education institutions.

They have often argued that, private universities also contribute to the manpower development of the country and as such, should be assisted to train the needed human resources for national development.

However, the government has often argued that such calls are misguided. It believes that it is not the best practice to mix public and private funds since it is likely to create a problem in terms of ownership.

Government believes that running a private university is purely private business, insisting the 1992 constitution gave private people and institutions the right to run private tertiary institutions if they had the money and the resources, provided they meet the accreditation requirements.

The 15th congregation of the school saw the graduation of 1,711 students with various diplomas and degrees. Prof. Adimado hinted of plans to introduce undergraduate programmes in Agribusiness, Ophthalmic Dispensing Technology and a 6-year doctor of optometry.

Postgraduate programmes such as Midwifery, Nursing, cybersecurity and Agribusiness management are also in the plan.

Founder of GCUC, Albert Acquah said the University College will extensively turn its attention on the Sustainable Development Goals.

The special guest of honour, Prof. Nana Anokye, Director, Division of Global Health at Brunel University London, urged the graduands to give back to society.

“Give back your time, talent and treasure. Give back your experience, insights and feedback. And give back your support, encouragement and gratitude. Give back to empower the future of the University College to benefit the broader society,” he said.

The President of the Garden City University College (GCUC), Prof. Emeritus Anthony Apeke Adimado, used the occasion to appeal to the government to fix the Airport Roundabout through Kenyase to Antoa road.

“We would humbly request that the rehabilitation of the road from Airport Roundabout through Kenyase to Antoa be given very urgent and serious attention.

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Apart from the exponential growth, which is encouraging, the private higher education sector has had its fair share of widespread concerns about the compromise of quality and standards at some of the private universities.

It is no doubt that the increase in the number of private universities in Ghana has further increased access to higher education, which is one of the tenets of education.

However, it appears that access has been achieved at the expense of quality and relevance of the educational provision.

Private universities have come to stay and are contributing to providing the human resources needed by Ghana’s labour market. It is therefore imperative that the sector is supported to perform this important function.

An internationally tested approach for supporting social sectors to strengthen their quality of output and improve standards is benchmarking.

Benchmarking is a widely used tool to collate comprehensive data on agreed performance indicators which is accessible to universities.

The tool takes stock of how well universities are performing in satisfying their teaching and research obligations.

When universities have access to such a data about their peers or competitors, they can compare and take management decisions to improve their quality systems.

In a research carried out on the quality assurance mechanisms in some private universities in Ghana, it became apparent that data collection and benchmarking were not robust in the private higher education sector.

The outcome of the research supports a 2016 World Bank report which concluded that most African universities do not have the mechanisms that would enable them to benchmark their performance with their peers.

With about 42 private universities in Ghana in 2012, currently, there are over 80 private universities in Ghana and as such, there is a dire need for the sector to take stock of how it is fulfilling its education and research responsibilities.

In filling this gap, Education Quality Network (EQN) is currently developing ‘EducationMark’, a benchmarking tool to serve as an online repository or a one-stop performance management shop for private universities in Ghana to share and access data about how their peers are performing.

The EQN looks forward to collaborating with private universities in Ghana in a bid to creating an online space where comprehensive knowledge on best practices on costs management, access, quality management and relevance of the education they provide is accessible.

Most importantly, benchmarking will help improve quality standards in the sector and leverage the universities’ position on the quality spectrum.

In addition, benchmarking will, ultimately, cultivate a data collection culture among the private universities.

AUTHOR: Jo-Jo Odjidja (PhD), Education Quality Assurance Consultant, Education Quality Network EMAIL: eqnoffice@gmail.com