An exploration of university education systems : the case of three universities in Ghana

Abstract

Ghana as a developing country has instituted a number of programmes and policies with respect to education aimed at improving the lives of her citizens since independence. The key focus of these policies have been on enhancing accessibility and quality of output at all level of the educational strata. The former aspect of the policy seems to be on track as enrollment has increased. The latter on the other hand has remained a topical issue with stakeholders and think tanks grabbling to find the right mix of solution.

Against this and other concerns, this study therefore seeks to explore the following questions; 1) what is the meaning and nature of university education in Ghana? 2) what is the role and functions of university education in Ghana; 3) what are the decision-making structures with regards to how universities in Ghana are governed; and 4) what are the key desirable governance issues needed to address quality issues in university education in Ghana. The study discusses the larger ramification these have on university education in Ghana.

This is an explorative qualitative study. It is a norm that the ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions are best suited for exploratory research as such questions develop pertinent premise and does not limit the research to what you find but how such issues have been or are being handled as captured in this study’s research questions. Documentary data, in-depth interviews, and the researcher’s experience in university administration were used to collect data from high level university leaders who were serving or had served three top Institutions in Ghana. The researcher sought to learn from the experiences of these other senior university management staff, the students and the regulators. Twenty-three (23) participants were interviewed. The participants were former and serving university governing council chairs, former and serving university Vice-Chancellors, university registrars, senior finance officers, former and serving executive secretaries and student leaders who served on university governing council. Data recording, note taking, transcribing techniques were used to collect data. Transcribed data was read repeatedly to make sense of thematic issues emerging from the data. Significant quotes were derived from the participants’ response and integrated in the report writing to highlight key issues and voice.

The findings of the study suggest that remedies for the changes realized in governance should take into account measures such as strengthening institutional capacities; balancing between the interests of the private and public sector actors in university education; and safeguarding the policy space of the ordinary people to participate in university education affairs that concern or affect them.

To deal with the numerous challenges faced by universities, the study makes the following recommendations. A roadmap for financial sustainability should be developed. There is also the need to increase stakeholder participation when it comes to dealing with quality issues in university education. Future research should assess the impact of human capital on Ghana’s development trajectory since independence.