NORGES HANDELSHØYSKOLE

Bergen, June 19, 2006

Interactions between Education, Economy and Politics

A Case of Ghana’s Educational System from a Historical
Perspective

Ewurama Pimpong

Supervisor: Stig Tenold

Thesis for an MSc. International Business subitted to the department of

Economics

NORGES HANDELSHØYSKOLE

This thesis was written as a part of the Master of Science in Economics and Business
Administration program - Major in International Business. Neither the institution, nor the advisor
is responsible for the theories and methods used, or the results and conclusions drawn, through
the approval of this thesis.
 Table of Contents
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................2
1.Chapter Arrangement and Introduction............................................................................6
1.1 Chapter Arrangement ..........................................................................................6
1.2 Introduction .........................................................................................................9
2.Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................11
2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................11
2.2 Literature ...........................................................................................................13
2.2.1 Discussion of Literature ............................................................................14
2.2.1.1 When is Education complete? ...............................................................14
2.2.1.2 Products of Education ...........................................................................15
2.2.1.3 Education is dynamic ............................................................................16
2.2.1.4 The Value of Education.........................................................................18
2.2.1.5 Cost and returns of Education ...............................................................20
2.3 Application of Framework ................................................................................21
2.3.1 What is the quality of education? ..............................................................22
2.3.2 What are the expectations of education?...................................................22
3.Colonial Era (1600-1900)...............................................................................................23
3.1 History ...............................................................................................................23
3.2 Philosophy of Education ...................................................................................25
3.3 Outcome ............................................................................................................28
4.Guggisberg Era (1924-1927)..........................................................................................30
4.1 Economic Situation ...........................................................................................30
4.2 Brief History......................................................................................................31
4.3 Development of Education................................................................................32
4.4 Philosophy / Focus ............................................................................................33
4.4.1 The Educationist Committee’s recommendations.....................................34
4.4.2 The Phelps-Stokes Reports........................................................................34
4.4.3 The Advisory Committee on Education....................................................35
4.4.4 Gordon Guggisberg’s Sixteen Principles of Education.............................36
4.5 Outcomes:..........................................................................................................43
5.Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Era (1951-1966)..........................................................................49
5.1 The Role of Education in the Independence of Ghana......................................49
5.2 Economic situation ............................................................................................51
5.3 Brief History......................................................................................................54
5.4 Development of Education................................................................................54
5.5 Philosophy / Focus ............................................................................................55
5.6 Outcomes...........................................................................................................56
5.6.1 Primary Level ............................................................................................58
5.6.2 Middle School level...................................................................................59
5.6.3 Expectations ..............................................................................................60
5.6.4 Secondary School Level............................................................................61
5.6.4.1 Expectations ..........................................................................................62
6.The ‘Cocktail’ Regime (1966 – 1981) ...........................................................................63
6.2 Regimes .............................................................................................................67

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 6.2.1 Lt. Gen. Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa (1966-1969) .......................................67
6.2.1.1 Brief History..........................................................................................67
6.2.1.2 Activities in Educational Sector ............................................................68
6.2.2 Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia (1969- 1972) .........................................................68
6.2.2.1 Brief History..........................................................................................68
6.2.2.2 Activities in Educational Sector ............................................................69
6.2.3 Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (1972- 1978) ...................................70
6.2.3.1 Brief History..........................................................................................70
6.2.3.2 Activities in Educational Sector ............................................................71
6.2.4 Major-General Fredrick William Kwasi Akuffo (1978 – 1979) ...............71
6.2.4.1 Brief History..........................................................................................71
6.2.4.2 Activities in Educational Sector ............................................................72
6.2.5 Dr. Hilla Limann (1979-1981) ..................................................................72
6.2.5.1 Brief History..........................................................................................72
6.2.5.2 Activities in Educational Sector ............................................................73
6.3 Overall trend of Activities in Educational sector ..............................................73
7.The Rawlings Regime (1981 – 2000).............................................................................75
7.1 Economic Situation ...........................................................................................75
7.2 History ...............................................................................................................77
7.3 Development of Education................................................................................78
7.4 Philosophy / Focus ............................................................................................81
7.5 Outcomes...........................................................................................................83
7.5.1 Dr. Sawyerr’s issues ..................................................................................84
7.6 Analysis of Educational System........................................................................91
7.6.1 At the primary and JSS levels ...................................................................91
7.6.1.1 What is the quality of Education at the primary and JSS levels?.........91
7.6.1.2 What are the expectations of Education at the Primary level?..............92
7.6.1.3 Has the educational system at the JSS level positively contributed to economic
growth of Ghana? ..................................................................................................95
7.6.2 At the Senior Secondary School Level......................................................96
7.6.2.3 What is the quality of Education? .........................................................96
8.University Education......................................................................................................98
8.1 History and Development of Universities in Ghana .........................................98
8.1.1 The role of Private Universities...............................................................100
8.1.3 Problems of the 1950s .............................................................................101
8.1.4 Problems of the 1970s .............................................................................102
8.1.5 Problems of the 1950s and 1970s seen today..........................................103
8.1.6 Problems of Today ..................................................................................105
8.2 What is the quality of Education? ...................................................................109
8.3 What are the expectations from Education?....................................................110
8.4 How has the educational system at the University level contributed to economic growth
of Ghana? ....................................................................................................................110
9.The way forward ..........................................................................................................115
9.2 Previous Recommendations ............................................................................117
9.2.1 Dzobo Report and Current Recommendations........................................119
9.3 Current review and recommendations.............................................................119

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 List of Tables

Table 5.1: Ghana’s GDP per capita from 1951-1956.......................................................51

Table 6.2: Ghana’s GDP per capita from 1967 to 1980....................................................65
Table 7.1: Ghana’s GDP per capita from 1981 to 2000....................................................75
Table 7.2: Ratio of Science/Technology students against ration of Arts/Humanities students in
Universities and Polytechnics ...........................................................................................85

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 List of Appendices
Appendix 2.1: Time line of Educational contributions of Traders and Missionaries in the Gold
Coast................................................................................................................................129
Appendix 4.1: The ‘Sixteen Principles’ of Governor Guggisberg..................................130
Appendix 7.1: Enrolment and Enrolment Growth Rates for JSS & SSS (1987-1997) ...131
Appendix 7.2: Share of different sectors in the total GDP ( in percent) .........................132
Appendix 9.1: Curriculum Principles of Education ........................................................133

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 1
Chapter Arrangement and Introduction

Ghana is currently a democratic republic, but Ghana has had a rather turbulent political past. The
political atmosphere has constantly been changing. Having started as a land with many
independent tribes, Ghana became a country with the scramble for Africa in the 19th century, later
she gained her independence from the British colonialists and started her own political journey.
After freedom from external oppressors, Ghana went through many political upheavals mixed
with democratic dispensations, one-party governments and dictatorships. Each of these
governments had an effect on Ghana’s economy.
As we sketch the political history of Ghana we will zero-in on the changes in the educational
system during the time and draw out the relationship between the educational system and the
economic development of Ghana. The two questions that shape this paper and will be answered at
the end are:

1. How has the educational system of Ghana developed over the time?
2. What has characterized the relationship between the educational system and Ghana’s
economic and political development?

There will be a close look at the roles that individuals have played in shaping the educational,
political, and economic systems. The reason for this focus on individuals is the lack of a
consistent political system over the years in Ghana. The leader of each government was usually
very influential especially, in the era of military governments. Every government that took over
seemed to put aside the existing systems and start over with new systems and new ideologies.

1.1 Chapter Arrangement

As stated earlier, the chapters have been tailored around the prominent political leaders of the
time. Guggisberg, a British governor, is the first leader to be examined in this paper because his
perspective of Ghana seemed very different from his predecessors. Ghana, for him, was more
than just a colony; she was a nation with people that had potential and needed development. For

6
this reason, he mapped out a development plan which he carried out until the day he handed over.
The main educational landmark of Guggisberg, that stands today is, Achimota School.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first Ghanaian president of Ghana, sought to take his nation to the
highest heights possible. After bringing Ghana through the independence struggle, he wanted to
show that, in his own words, the black man was capable of managing his own affairs. This
propelled him to do as mush as he could in every sector. He also drew development plans for
Ghana and finished some of them in record time. Dr. Nkrumah left behind the legacy of Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a number of secondary schools and many other
national treasures such as the Akosombo dam.

Dr. Jeremiah 1 John Rawlings has been the longest reigning leader in Ghana. His era was
characterised by a military government that metamorphosed into a democratic government. He
instituted the most radical change in education by changing the educational system from the
colonial British system of education to the Junior Secondary School (JSS)/ Senior Secondary
School (SSS) system currently in Ghana today.

Quantitative data for each regime would have been the ideal basis for comparison; however, this
is extremely difficult considering the limitation with regards to data availability. In sections
where relevant data is available, it is used. However, qualitative analysis is more frequently used
in analysing each regime. Nonetheless at the beginning of the Nkrumah, Cocktail and the
Rawlings chapters there will be a graph depicting the GDP per capital over the period and a brief
the description of the economic situations of the time. In the chapter The Way Forward, there will
also be an overall graphical depiction of GDP per capita as a percentage of the world.

The next segment of this introduction will give the reader a simple introduction to some thoughts
on education.

In chapter two, the theory chapter, the link between education, politics and economic growth is
established. This will be examined from different perspectives such as the role of education

1
Often called J. J. Rawlings or Jerry John Rawlings

7
according to the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD). Other ideas on education and its relevance will be analysed. Other issues
that will be touched on include what holistic education should be. Through the analysis, a
framework is created that will be used to asses the various educational changes made by each
government.

In chapters three to seven political time periods are analysed more closely in terms of education,
politics and economic growth. Chapter Three will be for the early colonial time until 1919.
During this time there are educational developments linked with the slave trade, colonial rule and
missionaries. Chapter four looks at Governor Guggisberg’s years in office and his remarkable
contribution to education. Notes will be taken on what happened after he left, up until Ghana has
her independence. Chapter five examines Dr. Nkrumah’s contribution to education. Chapter six
will browse through a turbulent history of democratic governments and military regimes. This
segment will not be detailed. The purpose of Chapter six is to acquaint the reader with some
changes that explain Ghana’s situation as at 1979 which begins the seventh Chapter. This last
segment of the political eras focuses on the nineteen year reign of Flt. Jerry John Rawlings (now
Dr. Dr. Jerry John Rawlings 2 ). These five chapters will describe the situation, and analyse the
effects on economic growth.

Chapter eight takes an exclusive look at the development of university education in Ghana.
Political changes have not affected university education much, that is why it is examined
separately.

Finally, in 2000 the newly democratic government appointed a committee to review the
educational system in Ghana and make recommendations. The recommendations that have been
made are currently what prevail as the governments guide to improving the educational system.
Chapter nine will look at the present recommendations that have been made, what has been
overlooked and what the way forward in Ghana’s educational system is. The question here is:
What should Ghana do for education to improve the educational system? At the end of this
chapter will be a conclusion of the entire paper.

2
He has resign his position in the army and has had two honorary degrees bestowed upon him.

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1.2 Introduction
“The view was once generally held that there was no education in Africa before the Europeans
arrived late in the 15th century.” 3

Defining ‘to educate’ as, “To bring up and instruct: to teach: to train” 4 and defining ‘education’
as, “Bringing up or training, as of a child: instruction: strengthening of the powers of body or
mind: culture” 5 , then educating a person goes beyond the formal European system of learning to
read, to write, and to do arithmetic. In every society, education begins in the home. A child is
directly and indirectly taught to adhere to conventions of the home and society. Every individual
with or without formal education will be educated to some degree whether or not his education is
‘acceptable’ to others is another issue.

Traditional education in Ghana varies per tribe. Each tribe has its own culture. For this reason,
each tribe will educate its members differently in matters of language, governance, etiquette,
acceptable behaviour, religious practice and everything to do with it unique way of life. Tribes
had their own informal way of teaching through apprenticeship, rhetoric, experience and other
methods. In some cases young people are gathered and taught special skills by elderly members
of the society, in other cases some groups are taken away to secluded places for periods of time to
be taught. Apart from the differences in training due to tribal differences, a child may be trained
differently depending on the future role the child is expected to play in the society. For example,
from the onset, a child being groomed to become a chief may be instructed very differently from
one being trained to become a fisherman. Traditional education, in a sense, trained children to
take up predefined roles in society, thus maintaining the society and its culture.

“The effectiveness and the practical aspects of this type of education are intimately related to the
socio- economic milieu and to the importance of the heritage to be passed on to the next

3
Antwi, Moses K., Education, Society and Development in Ghana, p. 23.
4
Chambers English Dictionary, p. 451.
5
Antwi, Moses K., Education, Society and Development in Ghana, p. 23.

9
generation…. It tends to repeat itself and remains static unless some kind of political or social
upheaval brings about some fundamental changes.” 6

The static nature of traditional education was changed by western political influence during the
colonial period. Formal education was introduced gradually. Formal education also moulds a
nation. From age 7 (at least), a child is expected to spend most of his time in school being
educated. The hope is that, as the child is taught, the knowledge will preserve and improve life
for the child and community. There is a hope that the basics given to the child will be the
foundation for greater contributions to the society and eventually the whole of mankind.

Most lives are shaped most through the educational experience of the first few years. In Ghana
there have been countless educational reforms. Currently, Ghana’s educational system comprises
of 6 years of primary school, 3 years of Junior Secondary School (JSS), 3 years Senior Secondary
School (SSS) and 4 years of Tertiary education (depending on the degree being pursued).

6
Antwi, Moses K., Education, Society, and Development in Ghana, p. 25.

10
 2
Theoretical Framework
The whole object of education is, or should be, to develop minds. The mind should be a thing
that works. It should be able to pass judgment on events as they arise, make decisions.
- Sherwood Anderson
(1876–1941) American novelist & short-story writer
2.1 Introduction
In this section, a frame work is created from the analysis of the literature that is examined. The
deduced framework is what is used in the rest of the paper to asses the various regimes. In this
section there are boxes used to give illustrations that may be helpful to clarify some of the points
being put across.

Education has two sides to it. Too little or none of it, brings economic losses and too much or the
wrong kind of it, does the same. The challenge of every country is to provide its inhabitants with
the right kind and amount (or level) of education, that will enhance economic growth and general
well being of the nation.

The lack of education can have drastic negative economic effects. An example is, without
education there is no knowledge on how to prevent simple curable diseases. In this way the
country loses productive human resources due to the lack of education. Similarly, without
education some resources that would otherwise have been processed more efficiently produce
very little, such as farm lands. How does one teach modern methods of farming to totally illiterate
farmers who cannot read the labels on fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and other crop enhancing
chemicals? Either these enhancers are not used at all or they are used in wrong quantities causing
harm to nature, the farmers and the consumers.

On the other hand education per se is no necessarily sufficient to secure economic gains. Some
individuals have been educated to the extent that they will not take on jobs that are ‘below’ them
and have become a drain on the society because this is a section of the population that has been
educated (with national resources) and yet is not productive. When this segment of people take on

11
jobs that they are ‘over qualified’ for, such that they use very little of the training they have
received on the job, the nation loses because the invested knowledge and skills go to waste.

Also in some sectors, such as health, the education given to personnel may become a drain
because once the government has invested in these professionals they leave to more developed
countries. The country that trains the human resource does not get to benefit from its services,
causing a financial loss to the state. Money that could have been used in some other productive
economic venture is lost.

In an ideal situation each job should fit into the economic framework of the country and there
should be a person educated for each of these jobs. This ideal situation does not exist but, the
imbalance in some countries is far more pronounced. There are many ways in which countries
correct the anomaly between the ideal situation and reality. One way to do this is to open your
borders to the labour you need from other countries. For this solution to be effective your terms
of employment should be attractive enough to draw nationals with the requisite qualifications
from other countries. Another way to achieve the desired labour mix is to make the educational
system as flexible as possible encouraging rapid retraining for those who cannot find a place in
the job market.

In a country such as Ghana the per capita income and salary levels are not attractive enough to
consistently bring in the necessary labour even with borders open to the needed labour.
Unfortunately, the educational system in place also does not encourage quick retraining, making
it difficult to achieve the necessary labour mix that will sustain the economy. Apart from being
unable to correct the normal variance between labour and needed employment, developing
countries lose the existing labour to the developed countries that open their borders and offer
better conditions of service. Overall, even though there may not be the ideal match between
labour and employment anywhere, there is a more serious mismatch in developing countries such
as Ghana.

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2.2 Literature
Two main literature sources used to shape this chapter and subsequent chapters are “Financing
Education - Investment and Returns” and the Millennium Development Goals Report 2006.

“Financing Education - Investment and Returns on the whole examines both the investments and
returns to education and human capital. As a source for this thesis there is a focus on the returns
expected from education.

The Millennium Development Goals report 2005 is used as a supporting document that also
confirms and reiterates what is stated in the OECD Analysis. The Millennium Development goals
report also gives information on how education affects and is affected by society.

The second goal of the Millennium Development Goals Report of 2005 is to achieve universal
primary education. The target is to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls
alike, will be able to complete a full course of Primary schooling. 7

Even though, increasing the number of students seems to bring about an increase in literacy, this
assertion is not entirely true. One does not necessarily become more knowledgeable by going to
school. On the part of the education provider, the quality of education determines the extent of
literacy. On the part of the individual, ones willingness (and in some cases capacity) to assimilate
what is taught also determines the gains from education. Because of these conditions, simply
increasing the number of students is not a reliable way to ensure literacy. [Later on in the paper
this becomes obvious especially with the JSS/SSS systems]. The success of an educational
system therefore also depends on the quality of education given. For the sake of this paper the
quality of education will be determined by the calibre of graduates of the educational system.
There will be discussions on what kinds of graduates are churned out of the system (over-
educated, under-educated or mis-educated), the intrinsic value of education given and the ability
to cope with dynamism.

7
United Nations, Millennium Development goals report 2005

13
2.2.1 Discussion of Literature

2.2.1.1 When is Education complete?

The OECD Analysis points to the fact that education enhances the economic well being of
individuals and these individuals in turn affect the economic well being of the nation. It is
interesting that the report mentions that: “Access to and completion of education is a key
determinant in the accumulation of human capital and economic growth.” Having access to
education without completion in some ways could be a total waste of resource. What is complete
education? At what level would one have completed education? Is it the completion of Primary
School, Junior Secondary School, Senior Secondary School, or University? For university
education would it be at the Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate or Post doctorate Degree level?

The Millennium Development also stresses the need for the children to finish primary school so
they have an education that prepares them for life. Though primary education does in some ways
prepare students for life, is primary education adequate? According to the OEDC report:

“Education is a force that develops well-rounded and engaged citizens, and builds more
cohesive and participatory societies.” 8

Is the primary education available in the country enough to foster these ideals? It would be
expedient for countries (and donor agencies) to look at this question. It is possible that for some
countries the answer would be affirmative. But for others, completion of primary school is not
enough.

Box 1:
Side Comment A: In Ghana there have been reports of Junior Secondary School
graduates who struggle to write their own names.

Going back to the quotation above, this definition permits us to rephrase the initial question (what
is complete education?) above to become: “At what level of education would an individual be
well-rounded and engaged such that he contributes to building a more cohesive and participatory

8
Financing Education – Investments and Returns Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2002 Edition
(Executive Summary), p 5

14
society?” The rephrased question introduces a number of possibilities of which, three will be
considered below.

2.2.1.2 Products of Education 9

The first possibility is that, there could be an inadequate amount of education that does not permit
one to become a well-rounded and engaged citizen capable of contributing to a cohesive and
participatory society. Such a person will be referred to as ‘under-educated’ for the remainder of
this paper.

A second, though often over looked, possibility is the situation where individuals may complete
an education but where this does not fulfil the criterion of making individuals well-rounded,
engaged and necessary for facilitating cohesive and participatory societies. For instance, the
educated persons have acquired skills for which job opportunities do not yet exist or are in
limited supply. They have skills and qualifications above existing employment vacancies and so
have no place to use their skills. The society in question may not have developed to the level of
appreciating these skills and do not have structures in place for the professions in question. In this
thesis we will call an individual in this state ‘over-educated’.

The third possibility is that, education would actually break down the cohesiveness of a society.
Such an example would be formally educated individuals who no longer heed to traditional
authority, thus, breaking down order and bringing confusion to local governance. Other instances
are when locally accepted ways of performing rites of passage such as naming, marriage and
burial are sidestepped for the ‘enlightened way’ (which in the case of Ghana was in fact, the
British way), bringing about confusion and anarchy. Such a person, who has been educated but
still does not exhibit the necessary qualities that bring about cohesion in society that should
enhance economic growth, will be termed ‘mis-educated’.

There is the notion that education is not only formal. On one hand, there is the prospect that some
forms of informal education, if given, permits one to fulfil the requirements of being well-

9
The terms ‘under-educated’, ‘over-educated’ and ‘mis-educated’ were created by the author for this thesis,
however, it was later realized that Mr. Theo K. Seste in his book , Current Issues in Ghanaian Education, also uses
the terms ‘over-educated’ and ‘under-educated’ but explains them in a fairly different way.

15
rounded and engaged; building cohesive and participatory societies. Perhaps the training given in
societies prior to being colonised and forced to take on formal education was indeed complete.
On the other hand, it is possible that the formal education given to colonies has in fact been no
education at all because it may have broken down the initial cohesiveness that existed in those
societies.

In summary the educational possibilities considered in this paper are:

Possibility 1: The ‘under educated’ person who does not have enough education to make him (as
an individual) well-rounded and engaged in such a way that he helps to build a cohesive and
participatory society.

Possibility 2: The ‘over-educated’ person who has been educated to the extent that he cannot
participate and does not contribute to the society’s cohesiveness.

Possibility 3: The ‘mis-educated’ person who, because of his education disrupts the cohesiveness
of society even though he may contribute to it.

In all three cases it is doubtful that their education has in any way been ‘well-rounded’. Being
well-rounded should presuppose that all the necessary skills (physical, psychomotor,
psychological, etc) and faculties (mental, social, recreational, etc.) of a person have been honed
into becoming suitable for the society and world in which he finds himself. Even if he is not fully
trained in all spheres he should be reasonably capable of adapting to situations he finds himself
in. It may also be worth noting that an engaged citizen is most likely participatory but may not be
contributing to cohesiveness as in the case of the ‘mis-educated’.

2.2.1.3 Education is dynamic

Going back to the question of ‘complete’ education, once an individual attains enough education
to make him well-rounded and engaged; building cohesive and participatory societies, it comes to
mind that society is dynamic. Because of society’s dynamism, the criterion that allows one to be
‘well–rounded’ enough, also changes. Some skills become more necessary and others are no

16
longer needed. So it is important to realize that one must keep abreast with the times and
constantly be educated sufficiently to be of economic value to the society. This introduces the
need for reforms, to even the perfect educational system, if any such thing existed.

Box 2:
Side Comment B: Though a light-hearted example, the skill of successfully using the ink
blotter without smudging ones work is definitely of much less use in the era of computers.

The OECD report predicts that there is a move toward ‘knowledge-based’ economies, where the
importance of human capital will continue to grow. It foresees that in the future workers who
create and use knowledge to add new value to products and services will be prominent and
perhaps the dominant group in the workforce of some countries. 10 Regardless of whether this
prediction is entirely accurate, it is true that there will be changes in the future and the
educational system should be such that people are prepared for change. There is a limit to
predictions that can be made. However, educating people on having the right attitude to change
will go a long way to create a dynamic workforce that adapts quickly to world changes. Apart
form this countries should be able to place themselves accurately in the changing world.
Countries must access their role in the world economy and find out how the changes uniquely
affect them. [Countries that provide agricultural goods will be affected differently from countries
that specialize in tourism with the advancement of technological].For example, because countries
are different educational systems will have to be different.

A changing world compels us to rethink what we mean by literacy. Views on how to define it have
become broader - moving away from the narrow notion of simply the ability to read and write - to
include numeracy and the application of knowledge in problem-solving. 11

Definitions of literacy commonly refer to the skills used in everyday life or those that allow one to
function competently in their own society. But the types of skills demanded in the information age
are in flux. Economic globalization; advances in information and communications technology;

10
Financing Education – Investments and Returns Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2002 Edition
(Executive Summary), p 9
11
Denise Lievesley & Albert Motivans , Taking Literacy Seriously ,

17
and the move towards knowledge-based society’s present new opportunities for some, but may
exclude others. 12

These definitions of literacy, given above, go to support the earlier assertion that education must
be dynamic to achieve its goals.

2.2.1.4 The Value of Education

“One way of assessing the impact of human capital for the collective performance of nations is
by measuring the impact of various factors on growth in gross domestic product. GDP alone, or
even economic well-being, cannot adequately reflect the full dimensions of human well-being –
which include the enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties, good health, a clean environment
and personal safety – but the role of economic growth in this equation should not be
underestimated.” 13

Is it possible that education has an intrinsic value that does not necessarily translate in to
economic gain? Human capital is mentioned as a key determinant of economic growth and
emerging evidence indicates that it is also associated with a wide range of non-economic benefits
such as better health and well-being. 14 In the Millennium Development Report, some of the
benefits of education are freedom to choose what kind of life to live and the ability to express
oneself confidently. 15 One could argue that health, well being and the ability to express ones self
confidently are all indirectly linked to economic gains, because, these benefits also help one to be
more productive at work. With this in mind two other prospects will be considered:
1 Having education without economic gain but yet having an increase the quality of
life.
2 Not having education, but having economic strength and yet there is no increase the
quality of life.

12
Denise Lievesley & Albert Motivans , Taking Literacy Seriously ,
13
Financing Education – Investments and Returns Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2002 Edition
(Executive Summary), p 6
14
Financing Education – Investments and Returns Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2002 Edition
(Executive Summary), p 6
15
United Nations, Millennium Development goals report 2005, p 12

18
Firstly, the possession and use of education in itself can improve the quality of life without
necessarily increasing economic freedom. As an illustration of how knowledge on its own goes a
long way to improve quality of life through health is, the knowledge of how to prevent AIDS.
Any life is made worse off by disease. Many aspects of life can be changed merely by the use of
available knowledge which can be provided through education.

In contrast, possession of financial strength alone does not necessarily improve the quality of life
of a people.

Box 3:
Side Comment C: A rich illiterate population may be: dying off because of
cholera; in a state of anarchy for lack of good political systems; malnourished or
weak because of poor eating habits, facing possible starvation because of poor
farming practises.

On the level of a community, being educated and wealthy will not exempt one from
the threat of malaria if the majority of the residents do not observe the necessary
sanitary conditions to prevent the proliferation of mosquitoes.

In the case of malaria, the state will have to import medication; there will be a loss
in productive working days due to preventable illness, unnecessary loss of life, etc.

On a larger scale the lack of knowledge can overshadow the benefits of economic wealth
especially in societies where the rate of illiteracy is high. Many developing countries do gain
some economic value from their resources, but a large percentage of the proceeds are channelled
into solving issues that would have been catered for if, the population was better educated.
Economic resources are limited and for as long as resources are being used in one area another
pertinent area loses. Many developing countries use majority of their resources tackling issues
that could easily be solved with the increase of knowledge. An example would be the money
channelled into purchasing drugs for diseases that could easily be prevented with simple
techniques and improved sanitation.

Education has its intrinsic value which eventually could affect the economic development of a
people. The quality of life of a people is best enhanced when there is knowledge and there are
economic means as well, because, there is a limit to which education can be obtained and used
without the economic support. [The knowledge of better and more advanced farming practices

19
cannot be implemented without the financial resources to buy the inputs]. Probably, the intrinsic
value of education is of greater importance than its direct economic benefit. The improvement of
the quality of life goes beyond having greater economic freedom. A more educated populace is
more likely to be healthy and use its resources more efficiently. That alone increases the quality
of life without directly increasing the economic freedom of the people.

2.2.1.5 Cost and returns of Education

Looking at education as an investment which should yield returns also gives a yardstick by which
an educational success story can be measured. For any worthwhile investment the returns must be
enough to recover cost and bring about a relatively good profit. In the case of education the costs
are the financial investments made to build the infrastructure, train teachers, pay teachers and
provide learning material among many other things. Another investment more subtle but of great
economic value is time. The time students devote to studies could well be used in some other
economically rewarding venture but yet students invest time to study with the hope of having a
greater benefit. All the resources that go into offering and promoting education could go into
other sectors but individuals and government make investments in education with various hopes
of benefit.

The reasons why individuals invest in education include, the possibility of having higher wages,
being in a certain social class, acquiring desired skills and being of social benefit, just to mention
a few. Expectations and goals vary greatly per person. On the whole they are often influenced by
the general socioeconomic conditions of the country.

Government expectations often vary greatly from individual expectations. Governments tend to
invest heavily in developing skills that will foster economic growth; secure political position or
maintain (or secure) international support. The foci of governments differ depending on their
source of power and level of development among other things (See Box 4). The source of a
government’s authority often dictates which focus the government has. This is because most
governments want political security. Not all governments necessarily increase the stakes of
remaining in office by providing an education that increases choice and encourages participation.

20
Box 4:
Side Comment D: A government could invest heavily in technical and vocational education because it
may want to have a highly skilled workforce capable of transforming raw materials into finished products.
The citizens of the country on the other hand may yearn for more organizational and administrative skills
to enable them to obtain white collar jobs in offices.

The possible outcomes of this would be a glut in the few institutions that offer administrative training with
vocational and technical institutions being under utilized. Also, the few who are compelled to go to the
technical institutes due to the glut in the administrative institutes will find a way to gain employment in the
administrative sector, discarding the technical training.

If the means is available students will leave the country to pursue education in the desired field. In cases
where the government does not simultaneously builds the industry it expects the educational system to
feed, there is a case of unemployment or a mismatch of skills and job placement because the citizens have
been trained in skill other than what the government has invested in and provided jobs for.

A third party in developing countries are international developmental organizations. These

organizations also have their conditions for giving loans or monetary assistance for any project.
Developing countries are often restricted in how the money can be used. The borrowing country
must use the money to fulfill goals set by the loaning agency. These goals may also not be
entirely aligned with the goals of the country nor of its citizens.

The expectations of what education should achieve and what the returns should be for the various
parties, often conflict. These conflicts often retard a country’s economic progress especially
because of the waste involved. The investments made do not always bring about the expected
returns. Ideally all three parties should have expectations that are complimentary, but often this is
not the case especially in developing countries.
2.3 Application of Framework
Each of the political time periods in this paper will be examined based on the discussions above.
The educational system will be mostly divided in to primary and secondary. The levels will be
defined in each chapter because the frequent changes in the structure of education over time.
Tertiary education on the whole has not undergone much restructuring therefore it will be dealt
with on its own and not under each regime.
In each section and for each level the following questions will be asked:

21
2.3.1 What is the quality of education?
This question will address three main issues: the products of the educational system (over-
educated, under-educated, mis-educated), the intrinsic value of education and the dynamism of
the educational system. The discussion of the products of education will invariably include the
issue of whether or not the educational system was ‘complete’.
This will be based on the OECD definition used in the analysis above:

“Education is a force that develops well-rounded and engaged citizens, and builds more
cohesive and participatory societies.” 16

2.3.2 What are the expectations of education?

The key participants of the educational system within each time period will be established and
their roles defined. In most case the main stakeholders will be the people, the government and
developmental agencies but there are other stakeholders such as prominent individuals (for
example, governors) and private education providers (such as missionaries) that will be
considered also.

In examining each time period using this analysis the overall question that should be answered is:

What was the outcome of the educational system?

16
Financing Education – Investments and Returns Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2002 Edition
(Executive Summary), p 5

22
 3
Colonial Era (1600-1900)

The paradox of education is precisely this — that as one begins to become conscious one
begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.
- James Baldwin
(1924–1987) US author, black civil rights spokesman in 50s-60s

The aim of this chapter on colonial education is to give a brief historical overview of the roots of
education in Ghana. 17 It is not a comprehensive review of the development of education over the
span of 300 years. The overview, in just a few pages, spans across the various traders,
missionaries and colonisers during the period. The next chapter ‘The Guggisberg Era’ will give
more insight into education in the early 1900s when British governance was firmly established
and education had taken root in the Gold Coast.

3.1 History
The Portuguese were the first recorded to open a school in the Gold Coast; their aim had been
primarily to convert the people at Elmina to the catholic faith. King of Portugal, Joao III 18 , had
given these instructions to the Governor at Elmina in 1529: “To provide reading, writing and
religious teaching for African children” The language used to teach was supposed to be
Portuguese and teachers were to be rewarded according to the number of pupils taught.

When the Dutch seized the Elmina Castle in 1637 they restarted a school in the Castle. They
aimed at helping children to be ‘qualified’ to learn to advance in the Christian faith. Though the
word qualified is not clearly defined, C.K. Graham in his book, The History of Ghanaian
Education, suggests it could mean either children who had some religious background or were of
mixed parentage. Eventually, the Dutch Charter of 1621 gave instructions for the establishment of

17
C.K. Graham, The History of Education in Ghana, is the main source for this chapter unless otherwise stated.
18
Meaning John III

23
‘Christian Schools’ with the hope that children would also become more favourably disposed to
the Dutch authorities.

At a point there was an urgent need for literate interpreters, this caused the Royal African
Company 19 to setup a school at the Cape Coast Castle in 1694, but this school did not last long.
In 1712 a school was set up to instil good principles in to the young mulattoes 20 and some blacks.
At this time education was aimed at teaching mulatto children. According to Great Britain
Parliamentary Papers dated 1816, “If the father of any person born in the country was European,
such a person was considered as having a better right or a stronger claim to be under European
jurisdiction than ordinary natives.”
Even though education was chiefly for mulatto children both mulatto and African children were
taught. In 1740 it is recorded that out of 45 pupils in a school only 11 were mulattoes.

One method of teaching in the 16th Century was called the monitorial system. This system was to
provide a cheap, easy and rapid method of teaching the poor the basic elements of instruction.
The system was such that a school master would teach monitors, (who would be older and
hopefully brighter lads) who would in turn teach small groups of younger children. For the
system to be effective, criteria were set for the calibre of people who could be monitors, this
included: being good, being humble, having aptitude for teaching a fair writing hand, and an
understanding of arithmetic. These standards were very subjective and in most cases those who
ended up being monitors were ill-equipped for the job and had to be constantly supervised.
However there does not seem to be enough evidence according to C.K. Graham to indicate that
this system was as widely used in the Gold Coast as it was in Britain. History according to C.K.
Graham indicates that emphasis was placed on religious instruction, reading and writing.

Before 1800 some boys were sent to Europe for education. The reason for this was to have the
educated lads who would be favourable disposed to British ideologies and adopt the view of the
British government. In the mid 1700 it was decide that a school would be built at each fort and no
more young men would be sent out to England. According to C.K. Graham, Education in the 17th

19
British slaving company set up in the 1600 that was responsible for transporting slaves and seizing rival ships
transporting slaves. It established trading posts along the coast of West Africa.
20
Mixed race

24
and early 18th centuries were predominantly the subsidiary function of the merchant companies,
who considered the school as the main source of interpreters, clerical subordinates and in some
cases soldiers. It was in 1816 that the British Parliamentary Papers of 1827 record the first school
was built by the African Company 21 in Cape Coast. Schools were mainly sited along important
coastal towns. Unfortunately progress of education up until 1827 was slow because of the poor
health of British teachers and high expenditure due to political unrest (Ashanti wars of 1808,
1811, 1816 and1826).

The Education Ordinance was enacted and applied to British West Africa in 1882. This was the
beginning of an effort to regulate education by the Colonial Administration. A director of
education was appointed in 1890 and the Ministry of Education was born in 1925.

3.2 Philosophy of Education

There are a number of reasons given for educating the colonised; four of these reasons will be
discussed below:

Firstly, education was seen as a heritage. Wives of traders that settled for extended periods of
time in Africa did not do very well because of ill health and their inability to become part of the
society. To solve this problem, traders had families with local women. The European trader
bound himself to make provision for his consort (‘temporary wife’) and offspring as a rule before
he could enter into such a relationship. The products of these relationships were called
‘mulattoes’ and were entitled to be educated. There were also legitimate marriages between
Europeans and Africans as well. European men married African women and African men came
home with European wives after many years of studying abroad. A Mulatto Fund was set up in
Cape Coast where all European traders were to contribute a portion of monthly earning towards
the education of children with mixed race and to support the African women who bore these
children. In some instances children were educated in the home country of their European parent.
Education then became a right for those who had European descent.

21
A slaving company, successor to the Royal African company after it was dissolved in 1752.

25
A second reason given for education was the desire to present Africans with Christianity. It is not
entirely clear why the Portuguese offered religious teaching, except that it was ordered by the
king. The Dutch however, initially presented religious education to those who were ‘qualified’.
Religion was deemed a heritage for those whose background was ‘favourable’ (children who had
some religious background or were of mixed parentage).Eventually ‘Christian schools’ were set
up to make locals more favourably disposed to the Dutch authorities.

British religious education came after there had been some established schools in the Gold Coast.
The Wesleyan Mission (Methodist) arrived in 1835 to find a school set up by Sir Charles
McCarthy, the governor. Books he had ordered for the school included psalmsters, prayer books
bibles and testaments. The missions actively promoted education as a means to impart religious
beliefs and to make it possible for Africans to read the bible and search the scriptures for
themselves. The Wesleyan Mission was known for its emphasis on education even back home in
Britain. The Basel Mission also came to the Gold Coast and settled in the Akwapim Ridge where
the health of Europeans was better (due to cooler weather). Their influence through religious
education has been felt through their introduction of Boarding Schools that produced a number of
teachers and catechists. The ministers and catechists trained by the missions were instrumental in
encouraging chiefs and locals to become educated. With time, the missions took most of the
responsibility in educating the locals. Education was mainly a tool to provide faith. In terms of
vocation they chiefly encouraged teachers, ministers and catechists.

Next, many educational initiatives were connected with the desire to govern and promote
commercial activity in the colony. Education was seen as a tool for making locals favourably
disposed to British norms and rules. These were the reasons the British government gave for
education at the time according to C.K. Graham are enumerated below:
1. To assist to influence the colony by giving instruction in England to some African
children who were either promising in themselves, or important for their African
connections.
2. Educated Africans would carry back to their country “minds considerably enlightened”
and would be particularly well instructed in the Christian Religion.

26
 3. It was felt that a large proportion of kings and headmen would value the friendship of the
British government and in good measure adopt the views of the government, if their sons
were educated in England.
4. In connection with the above point, it was thought that the young men educated in
England would eventually put into force what they learnt in England when they eventually
succeeded their fathers.

It is amusing to note that generally among the Akan society (which includes, but is not limited to,
the Fantis and Asantes) inheritance is passed on not from the father to his son but from the father
to his nephew (sister’s son). This means that in the event of a chief’s death or destoolment it is his
nephew (not the son, who would have been educated in England) that would succeed him. This
makes a mockery of the last two reasons given above for educating young men in Britain because
the chief’s son who had been educated so as to become more cooperative with the British would
have very limited influence in society since he was not the one who eventually became chief.
With time, the British learnt the rudiments of the tradition and tried to encourage education for
heirs to the throne. This however did not always work well because locals would reject a chief
who had ‘left the protection of the gods’ and had been out of touch with the society whiles
studying in Britain. In some cases educated royals were seen as threats and troublemakers. The
dabbling in chieftaincy issues by the British was a source of many later problems including
resistance. But in the meanwhile, education was given with the hope of having loyal and
submissive subjects in return.

The final reason for education was to have an appreciably trained workforce. As an additional
benefit to the first three reasons given for education, educated Africans were extremely useful as
teachers, interpreters, clerks and traders. For instance the need to communicate with inhabitants
propelled the opening of a school for translators in the 1600s. An educated populace was
definitely more desirable and productive. It is unfair to imply that colonial education only made
Africans suitable for low level jobs. There were those whose education permitted them to lecture
in European universities. Such an example would be A.W. Amo who was sent to live in Europe
with the son of the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbutte in 1707. He studied and lectured at the
universities of Halle, Jena and Wutenberg (where he received his doctorate). He was later

27
awarded the title of counsellor of state at the Court of Berlin. After 37 years in Europe he
returned to the Gold Coast.

3.3 Outcome
The outcome of education was quite a mixture because of the different reasons for providing
education. From the onset, education as a heritage was the main reason to educate locals. This
lead to the assumption the education was something good for ‘whites’ and not ‘blacks’. This was
one reason that made it difficult to promote education among the locals.

The mission to convert Africans to Christianity was very effective at the time. Unfortunately, the
difference between what was heathen worship and what was only tradition was unclear for many,
therefore, many cultural elements that were free from religious implications were misinterpreted
as heathen and unacceptable (including traditional clothing in some cases).

Educating Africans to make it easier to govern was the beginning of the end of the British
presence in the Gold Coast. Africans, especially after going to Britain, were suddenly enlightened
to the injustice of society and sought to correct the situation, eventually leading to the struggle for
independence.

The education given was fashioned as closely as possible to what prevailed in Britain (since
Britain was the main coloniser). For this reason, locals were taught to appreciate British customs
and norms as the ‘educated’ or better way of living. This view, taken to the extreme, caused a
great deal of havoc because it destabilised the harmony in society. The educated elite questioned
the authority of traditional rulers and began to reject indigenous norms and rules. This began a
conflict between the educated elite and the traditional rulers.

Also, the then bookish nature of the British educational system was passed on. This affected the
view of what kind of work was seen as acceptable for the educated and what was not, a mindset
that has caused much damage to the country economically today. The idea that what was done in
Britain was the superior way of doing things became so engrained that even when governors such
as Guggisberg were pressing for education to be refashioned to fit the African context by

28
introducing Ghanaian language and technical education, it was resisted by the elite as a plot to
give Africans an inferior education. Unfortunately Africans had been taught to reject everything
African. The battle between education and culture ensues today. The need to take on British
culture alongside literacy is the point at which the education given became mis-education.
Education was no longer a tool to make one literate and more productive but also a tool to make
Africans ‘British-minded’ so they would be easy citizens to govern.

The initial introduction of education to Ghana cannot be ruled as an entirely negative undertaking
because; many of those who came home from studying abroad were key figures in the promotion
of literacy. Jacobus Captien as an example was instrumental in putting Fanti in to writing. More
importantly, it was through education that the locals realized their right to freedom. Education
was what made it possible for Ghanaians to take up governance. The value of education in this
regard is very high especially for the nation as a whole.

29
 4
Guggisberg Era (1924-1927)

“It was commerce alone that sent the British and other European countries to the West Coast
of Africa. Commerce was the ‘fons and origo’ of our presence there”…. “As a nation we gain
much and lose nothing in frankly admitting to ourselves that our presence in West Africa was
neither due to a desire to mend ways of priestly theocracies, nor to alter the tyranny of the
strong over the weak… but the belief that West Africa constituted a vast outlet for the free and
unfettered development of British trade, and an equally vast field for the cultivation of
products of economic necessity to ourselves.”
- C.K. Graham, The History of Education in Ghana

Guggisberg, one of the colonial governors of the Gold Coast, is chosen out of the governors at the
time because of his remarkable personal interest in the Gold Coast and his singular efforts to set a
model for the educational standard in the colony.

4.1 Economic Situation

Guggisberg drew a Ten-Year Development Plan covering the period 1919 to 1928 that would
involve an expenditure of £25million. 22 Since colonies were supposed to be self- sustaining, to
raise this money, Guggisberg relied on the existing trade surplus, loans and revenues from
domestic economic activities.

Guggisberg set precise guidelines by which future estimate committees where to be guided and
set up a General Reserve fund of £500,000 that was to grow annually by the interest it accrued.
Successive governments maintained this fund and by 1946 it had grown to £1.5 million. 23
Taxes on cocoa, kola and timber were the source of domestic income. The tax policy Guggisberg
adopted at the time was for taxes to be high but not high enough to serve as a disincentive to
farmers. He had to ensure that the production of cocoa, which was the cornerstone of the
economy continued. Cocoa production was at a peak after the First World War but between the

22
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright, Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.123
23
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright, Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.123

30
years of 1920 and 1923 there was a depression and a decline in terms of trade that slowed the
progress of the governments economic achievements.

The accomplishments of the Ten-Year Development Plan included a railway line linking Accra
and Kumasi, the two major cities. Other railway lines connecting major mineral and cocoa
producing areas to the coast were also completed. In all 233 miles of rail were constructed under
the development plan. Another 250 miles of prospective rail lines were surveyed during the time.
1,200 miles of roads were laid and communication systems expanded (telephone and telegraph
lines). These developments were mainly in favour of British exploitation of the colony’s
resources. The development of the transportation sector did have a multiple effect on the
economy. Guggisberg was unable to extend the railway lines to the north of the country, where
there was the least economic development, before his term of office ended. Since the
infrustructure development was focused on cocoa and mineral producing areas, development was
lopsided leaving the Northern territory undeveloped. Today problem persists, and the northern
regions of Ghana are still relatively under developed.

Guggisberg was keen to develop the colony and had planned that the Africans occupying
European positions by the year 1936 would have increased to about 151. However by 1938 there
were only 41 Africans in such posts.

4.2 Brief History

Guggisberg was born in Canada on 20th July 1869 and taken to England at age ten. He entered the
army and was commissioned in 1889. After Guggisberg completed his service in Singapore with
the Royal Engineers he returned to Britain and became an instructor in his former college, the
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. 24

Guggisberg was first in the Gold coast from 1902 to 1908 as assistant director of surveys to
conduct an extensive survey of the country, particularly the concessions. 25 From 1910 to 1914 he

24
http://www.ghana.co.uk/history/history/colonial_rule_govenor_guggisberg.htm
25
Ewusi, Kodwo Ph.D., Economic Development Planning in Ghana, p.2.

31
was the Surveyor General of Nigeria. For a few months in 1914 he was the Director of Public
Works in Ghana. From 1924 to 1927 he was appointed Governor of the Gold Coast.

Guggisberg’s experience made him uniquely aware of Ghana’s social, political and economic
situation. He was attached to the Gold Coast not only professionally but emotionally as well. In
all his speeches to the legislative assembly he referred to the Gold Coast as ‘our country’ 26 .The
speech below given to the legislative council tells of his passion for her success:

“Whatever decision I may be called upon to make, I promise the people of Gold Coast (Ghana)
that I would be guided by the fact that I am an engineer, sent out here to superintend the
construction of a broad Highway of Progress along which the races of the Gold Coast may
advance… to those far-off Cities of Promise - the Cities of Final Development, Wealth and
Happiness.” 27

The main reasons for Guggisberg’s success in the Gold coast were his work experience in the
sub-region (Gold Coast and Nigeria) and his passion for the Gold Coast.

4.3 Development of Education

Both Sir John Roger and Sir Hugh Clifford, the governors’ preceeding Guggisberg, realised the
need for an improvement in education and had set up committees to make recommendations, but
it was only Guggisberg who actually took up the task of implementing a reform of the
educational system. 28 To begin with, even though a committee had already been appointed to
plan post-war (World War II) educational development, Guggisberg was dissatisfied with its
report and set up another committee to ‘investigate past educational efforts in the Gold Coast,
their successes or failure and the reasons therefore’ and then ‘to consider the whole educational
policy’ and to make recommendations on a range of questions which covered the field and were
set in considerable detail. 29

26
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.123
27
http://www.ghana.co.uk/history/history/colonial_rule_govenor_guggisberg.htm
28
Antwi Moses K. Education, Society and Development in Ghana, p.33
29
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A. , The Development of Education in Ghana, p.p. 54 & 55

32
Even though the governor’s preoccupation was establishing a good transport and communication
network 30 , Guggisberg considered education to be the key stone of ‘the edifice forming the
government’s main policy’. 31 So he went ahead to set up the Educationist Committee. For the
first time in the history of the Gold Coast, an African, Mr. Josiah Spio-Garbrah, was appointed to
such a committee. 32 Mr. Spio – Garbarah was the Headmaster of the Government Boys’ School
Cape Coast.

Apart from the Educationist Committee, there were also The Phelp-Stokes Reports and the
Advisory Committee of Education in the colonies that made remarkable contributions to
Guggisberg’s proposals.

4.4 Philosophy / Focus

‘We want to give all Africans the opportunity of both moral and material progress by
opening for them the benefits and delights that come from literature and by equipping
them with the knowledge necessary to succeed in their occupations, no matter how
humble. We want to give those who wish an opportunity of qualifying themselves to enter
any trade or profession. And finally, we want to give the best men and women the
opportunity of becoming leaders of their own countrymen in thought, industries and the
professions. Throughout all this, our main aim must be not to denationalize them, but to
graft skilfully on their national characteristics and the best attributes of modern
civilisation. For without preserving his national characteristics and his sympathy and
touch with the great illiterate masses of his own people, no man can ever become a leader
in progress, whatever other sort of leader he may become’. 33
The above is the summary of the objectives of education according to Guggisberg. To achieve
this objective(s) Guggisberg laid out his Sixteen Principles of Education. The manifestation of
these ideas and principles was in the establishment of Achimota College. The documents that

30
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright, Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.123
31
Antwi Moses K. Education, Society and Development in Ghana, p.33 found in Report on Educational Department
for the period April 1927 – March 1928
32
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A. , The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 55
33
Kay G. B. and Hymer S., The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana – A collection of documents and
statistics 1900-1960, p. 278

33
most influenced Guggisberg’s restructuring of education were the Educationist committee and
Phelps-Stokes Reports.

4.4.1 The Educationist Committee’s recommendations

The Educationists Committee that Guggisberg set up came up with 52 recommendations and 53
suggestions. The three main points as given by McWilliam and Kwamena-Poh in the book The
Development of Education in Ghana were:
1. The children of the Gold Coast should not be ‘denationalised’.
This meant that English would be taught as a subject and not be the medium of instruction. To
implement this, a special publication office was established to prepare vernacular text books.
2. The teaching profession should have better training and improved conditions of service.
3. The government should establish a secondary boarding school for boys.

4.4.2 The Phelps-Stokes Reports

These reports were written by a commission set up by American Missionary bodies working in
Africa. The reports pointed out that the rest of the community should be brought in line with what
was taught in the schools 34 . Also in 1921 the Director of Education visited African American
institutions and was so impressed with the success of co-education that he modified the
recommendation of having a secondary boarding school for boys to a co-educational institution.

Philip Foster, summarizes the essence of the Phelp-Stokes Reports as follows.

1. Western educational institutions had been transferred without reflection to the African
scene and no effort had been made to modify curricular content in the light of the
African experience.
2. The dysfunctionalities created by Western education resulted from wholesale an
unthinking transfer of Western educational institutions from the metropole.
3. It was therefore necessary to undertake a careful sociological investigation of African
conditions and upon the basis of this develop a series of specific recommendations on
the desired shape of future education.

34
An educational system is usually structured around the community it serves and not the other way round, this is
discussed further in ninth chapter of this paper.

34
 Based on the ‘careful sociological investigations’ that were suggested above the following
recommendations were made:
1. The development of the educational system substantially based upon agricultural
curriculum.
2. An agricultural curriculum was to be supplemented by a system of elementary
trade schools ‘to teach the simpler elements of trades required in native villages
and to prepare for the less skilled occupations in industrial concerns’.
3. Tribal languages should be used in lower elementary stages, while in areas with a
degree of linguistic differentiation a ‘lingua franca’ of African origin was to be
used in the middle forms. The language of the European nation should be begun in
the upper standards only.
4. Other subjects such as history and geography were to be more closely related to
the local environment.

4.4.3 The Advisory Committee on Education

Missions with headquarters in London asked the colonial office to set up a permanent committee
to advice on education. The members of this committee were considered to be experts whose
opinions carried weight 35 . Many developments that took place were directly linked with their
influence or advice.

The Advisor Committee recommendations were in two reports of 1925 and 1935. A summary of
the reports, from Education and Social Change in Ghana written by Philip Foster, were as
follows.

1. The structure of education was to be based on the continued activities of voluntary

agencies but with general direction of policy in the hands of the respective colonial
governments.
2. The schools were to be adapted to native life.
3. Grants-in-aid were to be made on the basis of efficiency.

35
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 57

35
 4. The use of local vernaculars in education, particularly in the lower forms, was to be
stressed.
5. There was a growing need for more active supervision of schools by the colonial
governments.
6. Great stress was placed on the need for technical, vocational and agricultural training
at the expense of more ‘traditional’ subjects within the curriculum.
7. There was an increasing awareness of the need to expand educational facilities for
women and girls.

The criticisms of the reports recommendations along with an assessment over time of how useful
these recommendations of the two bodies were will be seen in the chapter The Way Forward. It
will be discussed whether these recommendations and view points have something to give
education in Ghana today.

4.4.4 Gordon Guggisberg’s Sixteen Principles of Education

Guggisberg outlined his plan for the education of the Gold Coast through the announcement of
his sixteen principles to the Legislative Council in 1925 36 . Though each principle is important
eight of them are most relevant for this paper as we look at various reforms that took place later.

1. Primary education must be thorough and be from the bottom to the top.
The formation of a child’s life is based on the period in kindergarten. It is the stage at which skill
and character training has the most impact. For this reason the best teachers should teach at this
level and should be at least as highly paid as those who teach higher levels.

This principle is one of great foresight because years afterwards more and more emphasis was
place on character and skills training at higher levels. Unfortunately these have not had the
uttermost success. It is even more unfortunate that with time the calibre of teachers that teach the
lower classes had reduced considerably.

36
Full list is found in Appendix 4.1

36
2. Provision of secondary schools with an educational standard that will fit young men and
women.
In accordance with this principle a co-educational institution, Achimota School was built as a
model to other institutions.
6. The staff of teachers must be of the highest possible quality.
To raise the fallen standards of teaching since the First World War, a number of changes were
made. This included the fixing of minimum wages, the registration of qualified teachers,
streamlining government grants to schools that met the required standards and increased the
number of years for training teachers.

Qualified teachers were registered and unqualified teachers were driven out of the service. The
minimum wage was fixed at £100 to £180 a year for mission trained teachers and £98 to £208 a
year for government trained teachers. 37 At the time the government covered approximately 80% 38
of missionary teacher salaries. Government grants to schools were more than doubled between
1926 and 1927. 39 The two-year post primary course for teachers was extended to four years. Two
new teacher training colleges were opened and improvements were made to the existing one(s) 40 .
Schools that did not meet the standard lost their government grants and were closed down.
All in all Guggisberg wanted to ensure that the schools that were in existence were of high
standard quality and so 150 substandard (or bush schools as they were called) were closed
down. 41

10. The course of every school should include special references to the health, welfare and
industries of the locality.
There was the hope that adherence to this principle would tackle the problem of the contempt for
manual 42 labour that had been ingrained through the curriculum. The curriculum then made little
reference to the local conditions. In the future the curriculum was to include work that deals with

37
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 59
38
Ibid.
39
Antwi Moses K. Education, Society and Development in Ghana, p.35
40
The government training college was absorbed into Achimota College.
41
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 59. and Antwi Moses K.
Education, Society and Development in Ghana, p.34
42
The term ‘ Manual work / labor’ in this paper is used to describe jobs that are not clerical or administrative in
nature and requires a practical or ‘hands-on’ element it does not signify degrading or demeaning work.

37
life, welfare and pursuits of the village or town that the school was in. Schools were to take an
active part in their surroundings. Education was meant to be applied to the conditions of life that
were prevalent in the Ghanaian society. The curriculum of Achimota School aspired to
incorporate these values.

12. Whilst an English education must be given, it must be based solidly on vernacular.
Even though the main aim was to eventually have English as the medium of instruction for higher
classes it was difficult to teach English with English as the language of instruction. The language
classes were based on memorization and recitation; and for this reason, during one legislative
council debate it was suggested that all European teachers in the Gold Coast should have a grasp
of the local language so they could fully understand the background of students and their fellow
African teachers.

This principle could have also been based on the Education Committee recommendation that, the
children of the Gold Coast should not be ‘denationalised’. Guggisberg seemed to find it necessary
for the people of the Gold Coast not to lose their national identity. An ordinance was passed
making vernacular the medium of instruction at the primary level. This ordinance was not wholly
accepted by the general public. Some felt this ordinance was either going to retard progress of
education at the secondary school and university level or was a deliberate attempt to give
Africans an inferior education.

There were problems with implementing this ordinance because of the numerous languages in the
Gold Coast. Eventually four languages could be studied for the award of a certificate and many
others were used simply as a language of instruction at the primary level. Over time English
became the full language of instruction for most schools.

13. Education cannot be compulsory nor free.

This principle was by no means a way of limiting education to a few. The principle was based on
the circumstance Guggisberg found himself at the time. He had indicated that it would take many
years to have the number of teachers and amount of funding necessary to carry this out 43 . This is

43
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 58

38
an important point that Guggisberg noted because in the Nkrumah era education was made free
and this became a burden for successive governments, to the extent that the suggestion of school
fees was sure to negatively affect ones chances in office. Though it was obvious that there should
be some public contribution for the educational standard to be sustained governments hesitated to
do this for fear of fierce opposition. In the proceeding chapters the wisdom of Guggisberg’s
argument is evident.

15. The government must have ultimate control of education throughout the Gold coast.
This principle was to ensure that there was a uniform standard of education given to all.
16. The provision of trade schools with a technical and literary education that will fit young men
to become skilled craftsmen and useful citizens.
It is interesting to see that Guggisberg did have in mind an education that would make ‘useful
citizens’. One should note that the idea of a useful citizen varies; and that a ‘useful’ profession
does not necessarily imply a desirable profession. A profession that required manual labour was
not considered as ‘dignified’ as administrative professions. To make this notion worse, manual
jobs usually paid less than administrative professions. These made it undesirable to pursue
vocational or technical education. This, however, was the greater need of the Gold Coast, because
of her rich mineral wealth and vast arable land.

To promote technical education, an engineering school was opened at Achimota in 1931,

44
producing the first group of Ghanaian engineers. Out of the fourteen candidates four had
become heads of Government departments by 1957. Unfortunately by 1948 it was closed down
with the retirement of the head of the Engineering School, Mr. Deakin. Apart from that
Guggisberg, opened four Government Trade Schools.

4.4.4.1 The Achimota School Project

In 1920 a commission noted the need for secondary schools of ‘a wider and higher description
than those already existing’. 45 Only two secondary schools at the time were found to have a
quality of education with a semblance to what was desired. They were both receiving government

44
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 63
45
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 61

39
grants. For this reason Achimota was established in 1927. It was named the Prince of Wales
College and had its own council to run, it making it an autonomous institution. Until it was
reorganised in 1948, it had departments ranging from kindergarten to teacher training and
university. After 1948 the Secondary division has carried the name Achimota School. After
1961 the Achimota School Ordinance that stipulated its uniqueness in terms of finances and
management was repealed, making it an ordinary secondary school.

For the time that Achimota School was an exclusive project, it was outside the jurisdiction of the
Education Department and was not affected by its policies. The Governor was in some ways
directly involved in its establishment. A special budget was also allocated for its operations.

It was the first non-denominational school that took students from all regions in the country.
Achimota School was meant to embody all the principles and to be a model of what education
was to be in The Gold Coast. The system in Achimota School was based on adapting education to
native mentality, traditions, and needs. 46 The government worked hard to ensure that there was
the best teaching staff and equipment necessary for the experimental school to flourish. Achimota
School was founded to be a typical example of the kind of educational institution Guggisberg
desired.

The initial institution was built to cover education from ‘the cradle to the grave’. It started from
the pre-school and was to end in technical and university degree education. It focused on teaching
students to respect both traditional and western values. It was one of the first institutions to
encourage traditional attire, drumming and dancing; and at the same time, teach students etiquette
and how to walk properly. The laboratories were large and had the highest quality equipment.
The school compound was large and was divided into ‘west’ and ‘east’ compounds. To ensure
quality even some of the building equipment was shipped from the United Kingdom.

The school was to promote modern agricultural techniques so students studied botany and
classification of plants. Also there was an attempt to develop specifically African courses. As an

46
Kay, G.B. and Hymer Stephen, The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana- A collection of documents and
statistics 1900 – 1960,p.282

40
observer remarked about the training students were being given: ‘(Students) will be given a
special training, so that instead of flocking into the towns they may go back to their villages, as
chiefs, teachers, housewives, farmers, medical assistants, and artisans’. 47 The main aim was to
produce students who were Western in intellectual attitude towards life , with a respect for
science and capacity for systematic thought but who would remain African in sympathy and
desire for preserving and developing what is deserving of respect in tribal life, custom, rule and
law. 48

Criticisms of the Achimota School Project

Initially there was much opposition to the project. Firstly, it was co-educational boarding school
in accordance with the fourth and fifth principles. This was not applauded by the missions of the
day. It was a Christian school, but had no denomination. This was also frowned upon by the
missions.

A section of the European community was unhappy with the school because it provided Africans
with education comparable with the best academic standards of the Western world at the time.
The most pressing criticism that eventually caused the school to lose its unique position was that
it was too costly. Achimota School had an annual grant of £ 68,000 (which came up to a quarter
of the educational budget of the whole country), compared with £ 3000 for all other secondary
schools. 49 For the period of 1920 to 1930 a sum of £607,000 was set aside for it, this amount was
over 85% of the proposed education development expenditure during the decade. 50

From the press and prominent Africans (including those who were highly educated and in the
Legislative Council), came strong criticisms against the ‘Africanization’ of the curriculum. They
saw this as an attempt to keep Africans subordinate intellectually. Some felt it was an attempt to
give one class type of education to Africans and another to Europeans. Others went further to
insist that Achimota school should concentrate on secondary education as commonly understood

47
Philip Foster , Education and Social Change in Ghana, p. 166
48
Philip Foster , Education and Social Change in Ghana, p. 167
49
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 62
50
Philip Foster , Education and Social Change in Ghana, p. 166

41
and that classics should be included as a compulsory part of the curriculum. With time, this
stance wavered and Achimota School gained the support of some of the core critics.

An Assessment of the Achimota School Project

Success of the school is seen differently in the literature available. The literature interprets the
same facts differently to show the school either as a success or as an illusion of model education.

Achimota School is described as relative success by H. O. A. McWilliam and M. A. Kwamena-

Poh in their book, The Development of Education in Ghana. The authors acknowledge the initial
criticisms and the high cost involved in establishing the institution but eventually point to the
practical curriculum, the ability to attract students from various regions (creating national unity)
and the calibre of students trained (including future political statesmen) in conclusion. The high
costs of the project and focused attention on the experiment are portrayed as a necessity for the
project to be success that would eventually benefit the entire nation.

There is the fact that many students from Achimota School rose to occupy key positions in the
country. Achimota contributed to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the first Prime Minister and President of
the Gold Coast. The country’s first engineers were also trained at Achimota School.

Since it was the first non-denominational school that took students from all regions in the country
it was seen as a national school. This was important to the nation building process because it went
as far as attracting students from the Northern region of Ghana, which was quite isolated at the
time.

Philip Foster in Education and Social Change in Ghana, on the other hand states that Achimota
School was ‘one of the myths of Gold Coast education’. Firstly, Achimota received preferential
treatment in the allotment of staff and was mostly supported by government funds against the
limited sum for grants given for other secondary schools. There was also preferential access to
bureaucratic and government positions during the colonial era. There was also a rigorous
selection process for students. The ‘success’ of Achimota is thus seen as a result of special

42
treatment. It is of no surprise that students performed better because they were specially selected
and given exceptional facilities and teachers.

Secondly the African elements of the curriculum became less evident as the school developed and
the curriculum eventually became the same as its English and Gold Coast counterparts according
to Philip Foster. In his view the influence of Achimota School on the development of the Gold
Coast secondary school education was not marked. He concludes that the most notable feature of
the later colonial period was not the Achimota experiment but rather the increased pace of
development of the whole system of academic secondary schools.
Regardless of the shortfalls in the implementation of the project the aims are clear, to provide the
African student with an education that would suit his own environment. The continued debate
about feasibility and appropriateness of such a project will later be mentioned in The Way
Forward.

4.5 Outcomes:
The eventual outcomes of Guggisberg’s educational reforms were severely affected with the
educational system that was already in place and the scale of his reforms
The educational system that Guggisberg found was ‘rotten to the core’51 .

Ormsby- Gore, who surveyed education in the colony in 1926, noted that, the most important
fault of the system was that is was not geared to the employment requirements of the colony. 52
Unemployment, after being educated was a major problem of the system. Due to the nature of
education, most people were only suitable to take up positions as clerks. The job vacancy in this
area, compared with the availability of labour, was limited. Then, there was the problem of young
men who found it below them to take on any job that required manual labour. Many of them
preferred to continue to have their families support them than to undertake manual work.

The governor wanted to promote character training so that ‘the young African in Africa, like the
young Englishman in England, understands that manual work does not disgrace an educated

51
Kay G.B. and Hymer Stephen, The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana- A collection of documents and
statistics 1900-1960, p.278
52
Ibid.

43
man.’ 53 To achieve this goal Ormsby-Gore points out that it would require a full reform of the
educational structure, teaching methods and syllabuses. We will see later on in this paper that the
Provisional National Defence Council of 1981 make a brave attempt at implementing this kind of
reform .

The contempt for manual labour, which has been one of Ghana’s major drawbacks, stems from
the early educational curriculum. Guggisberg had noted this and hoped to curb it in carrying out
the tenth principle: The course in every school should include special reference to the health,
welfare and industries of the locality. 54

The omission of ‘the character training necessary for citizenship and leadership’, as Ormsby-Gore
points out, made the education at the time unable to make the African an efficient citizen and to
qualify him to undertake the leadership and affairs of the country.

The early curriculum of education was focused on teaching exactly as was taught in England. The
English education was, as a matter of course, focused on training the manpower necessary for her
development. Ghana, a country with a bounty of untapped resources needed an education that
would equip the inhabitants to tap those resources. Ghana did not have the ‘efficient’ class or
family trade system at the time that would naturally segregate people into professions. Though
there may have been family trades, their industries had not gained the strength to be of great
significance to the country and accrue family wealth (except in the case of cocoa farming). These
under developed skills as well as many non-existent skills were needed to develop the country,
not the skills offered in the British curriculum.

Another reason for despising manual work may have been the value placed on it in terms of
wages. White-collar workers were bound to receive higher wages than blue-collar workers. This
would have been a great disincentive to those who were studying for blue-collar jobs even if they
were highly skilled. The further implications of this are discussed in future regimes.

53
Ibid. Underlining is authors emphasis
54
Kay G.B. and Hymer Stephen, The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana- A collection of documents and
statistics 1900-1960, p.300

44
Though the British government of the day needed the ‘administrative’ skills of those being
trained, only a few were needed because, for the lower positions such as clerks there weren’t
many vacancies; and for higher administrative positions, there was no room for locals because the
British had to keep control over the colony. Higher administrative positions may have also served
as an avenue of employment for their own citizens.

The second problem with the existing educational system of the day was with the training of
teachers at the time. To enter the Training College, one had to pass the standard 7 exam. This
exam however was not nationally administered and did not give a uniform basis for the
assessment of student quality.

It is noted that at both the primary and teacher training level the students are taught more subjects
than in schools and classes of the same level, suggesting an overload of subjects. Students then
tend to ‘cram’ for exams instead of internalising the essence of what is being taught.

Due to the lack of teachers there were also an excessive number of students in each class, limiting
the effectiveness of any good teacher. The teachers in turn passed on their ‘crammed’ information
in the same way they received it, leaving students poorly educated. Because both government and
mission schools were filled to capacity, not all deserving students had access to education. As the
demand for education rose there was an increase in ‘bush’ schools and private tutorship. In both
cases there were very low standards of education. Since the sign of being educated was the
mastery of the English language, students were mainly taught to speak English. The English
taught by older boys who tutored or ran the bush schools was very poor. As the children spent
time learning bad English they were deprived of the time used to instil traditional values and
norms. The products of these schools came away with no useful knowledge and yet they were
unwilling to take on manual labour once they had been ‘educated’. These schools were highly
substandard and manned by poorly qualified people.

The raising of educational standards led to the closure of about 150 schools in 1925.This was
aimed at providing equal opportunity for boys and girls; improving teacher training; equipping
schools with the state of the art equipment, leadership and training in agriculture and handicrafts,

45
rather than solely literary subjects 55 . This high standard did force government to put up better
schools and train personnel. 56

Even though Guggisberg tried to encourage education to the university level (principle 2), there
was not much education beyond the primary level; there were too few post-primary schools
especially at the teacher training level 57 .

The scope and scale of the Guggisberg reforms were quite limited and this directly affected the
impact of reforms made. A great deal of effort went into building a model institution that would
set the pace and standard in education. So few people experienced the holistic training he sought
to give.

The majority of primary and secondary schools (over 70% of primary schools and over 60% of
secondary schools) were not government assisted (did not have any government financial
support). The non-assisted schools were increasing in response to the increasing demand for
education. However, the non-assisted schools were poorly equipped and had untrained teachers.
Though there were more pupils in Government and government assisted schools, many of the
pupils being educated (about 49% in primary school and 46% in Secondary schools) were
receiving substandard education.

The tendency in a situation like this was to promote a massive expansion in education, however
there was an explicit warning that the rapid expansion of primary education at the expense of
secondary education may do incalculable harm to both the structure of the educational system and
to the economy. The well meaning nature of this warning is seen as the quality of educational
starts to decline in the Nkrumah Era when primary school education is rapidly expanded, far
outpacing the development of secondary schools.

55
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright, Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.125
56
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright, Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.125
57
Antwi Moses K. Education, Society and Development in Ghana, p.34

46
To make Achimota School a success a portion of the national budget was apportioned to her.
Unfortunately later reports 58 show that the drive to make Achimota a success affected the
progress of other educational institutions. Considering that it may have served as the ideal model
for all schools in the Gold Coast at the time it was far too expensive and massive to reproduce on
a mass scale.

The overall educational plan of Guggisberg was outstanding; unfortunately it reached too few
people to have an overall impact on the society so mis-education still persisted. Too few people
studied beyond the secondary level, and for those who did, many received substandard education
that gave them skills that could not be used in the economy. Even if Achimota School provided
the necessary education to propel the future economic growth of the Gold Coast only a few
students would have this opportunity. Apart from this, Achimota School did not remain in its
ideal state for very long because it was so expensive to finance and not all governments after
Guggisberg had the same vision to keep it alive. Initially as a ‘protected’ school many features
and policies were exclusive. Later, Achimota, still existed as a high quality institution but was
less exclusive and so, also fell prey to educational reforms that were later implemented making
her fall below her ‘ideal’ state. After Guggisberg there were calls for the development of
education to be hastened and for the budget for education to be increased.

There was an attempt for the education of the Gold Coast to develop well-rounded and engaged
citizens, and build more cohesive and participatory societies. However it was on an exceedingly
small scale, allowing mis-education and under-education to persist at the primary and secondary
school levels because of the influence of ‘bush ’schools and unassisted schools.

The few institutions that encouraged dynamism and societal change were limited to few. The
overall educational system compounded problems because it encouraged unemployment and
waste. The social implications were disrespect for traditional authority. Economic implications
were a badly trained work force vying for unavailable jobs, thus, creating unemployment and
agitation. The individual intrinsic value at the primary and secondary school level was also
relatively small because the syllabus at the time was unconnected to the environment around

58
Barton, T., Education in the Gold Coast, p. 10

47
them. It was at the university level that the returns to education were relatively high because the
quality of education was ensured. The limited number of graduates also did assure them
employment opportunities at home, if they did not stay abroad. Often the highly educated
Africans would find their way into government positions.

The parents expected their wards to take up a lucrative appointment in reward for the investment
made in them. However this was not possible given the unwillingness for youth to take up jobs
that were available.

The general population of the time would have been disappointed with the effects of education
because most of the educated were poorly trained and even if they could speak some form of
English it was not enough to earn a ‘respectable’ job.

The Government of the day would also be dissatisfied with the outcome because of the pressure it
put on them to provide non-existent jobs to keep the ‘educated’ out of trouble. And for those who
were truly educated, their later push for more representation and self-governance would be highly
dissatisfactory.

Guggisberg was also concerned with the development of education in the northern regions of the
Gold Coast. For this reason, he personally inspected the prevailing educational institutions
present. He was dissatisfied with what he witnessed and so personally appointed Rev. A. H.
Candler as the head of a new Northern Territories Department of Education. To ensure that the
problems prevailing in the relatively well established educational system in the Southern
territories were not repeated, he was assisted by staff of Achimota School. Teachers for the
Northern Territories were also trained at Achimota College.

48
 5
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Era (1951-1966)

‘The development of self-government is not one of the objectives of education but one of its
inevitable consequences. We cannot educate the people of a colony without expecting them to
ask for self- government.’
- Sir Ivor Jenning, The Approach to Self Governance.

“If independence were to be hell, it would be little consolation to tell the victims that the fire
had been lit by their fellow-countrymen.”
- Sir Arthur Richards, Governor of Jamaica 1940

5.1 The Role of Education in the Independence of Ghana

According to some sources, the British were already preparing themselves for the day they would
grant full independence to their African colonies by the mid-1950s. 59 They realized that in order
for a colony to be successful after independence, strong educational and governmental institutions
were required. To ensure this, the British handing over process was supposed to take about 50
years. However, the occurrences after the Second World War accelerated the process of
independence.
During the war the Gold Coast contributed £ 340,175 as voluntary funds and an interest free loan
of £205,000 was made available to Britain. 60 Some Ghanaians offered volunteer services abroad
in support of Britain in the war, in all, about 70,000 people were drafted. Apart from this
Ghanaian harbours, air fields and telecommunication systems were developed in response to war
needs. Raw materials such as rubber, vegetable oil and minerals were supplied by locals in
support of the war. Regardless of all the goodwill support, colonial government curtailed
development programmes, and food production was undermined by the drafting of people.
Inflation also increased because of an increase in wages in connection with war services

59
Dan Ben-David and Michael W. Brandl., African convergence Clubs: The Effects of Colonialism and Trade, pg. 18
60
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright, Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.136

49
provided. After the war reconstruction was focused on Britain, and Ghanaians did not take kindly
to this.
Many of those who participated in the war brought back stories of the ‘evils’ of the ‘white man’s’
civilisation. The war was portrayed as the end result of racial discrimination when taken to the
extreme. The war veterans now had a new view of the colonial power that also undermined
colonial rule. 60,000 de-mobilized soldiers were not remunerated after the war because of
economic restraints.
Most of Ghana’s foreign reserves were used to invest in British government post war
reconstruction. Development of the nation was generally in favour of areas with resources and
access to the sea. There was no cocoa processing industry even though Ghana was the leading
cocoa producing nation at the time. Most of Ghana’s produce was taken to Britain. At a point
when taxes were being increased there was great discontent with the use of government reserves.
Ghanaians argued that there could not be an increase in taxation without an increase in
representation. When the colonial government was forced to make concession because of
escalating tension in the country, a number of educated Ghanaians were incorporated into
Legislature and the number grew as tension heightened. In 1946 the constitution provided for a
clear African majority to be elected in the legislature. The legislature is the body that controlled
the finances of the colony. The continued dissatisfaction with the socioeconomic conditions is
what prompted the establishment of the first political party around 1947, the United Gold Coast
Convention (UGCC). The UGCC opposed colonialism but did not seek drastic or revolutionary
change. The class origins of the members were the educated elites. Their main criticism was that
the government failed to solve problems such as unemployment and inflation. They pushed for
positions of responsibility that tallied with the colonial education they had received. The UGCC
called for self-government "in the shortest possible time".
The big six who were the core of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) were Dr. Kwame
Nkrumah, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey (lawyer), Mr. Ako Adjei (journalist and lawyer), Mr. Edward
Akuffo-Addo (lawyer), Dr. J. B. Danquah (lawyer), and Mr. William Ofori Atta. Others were
A.G. Grant (wealthy businessman and financier of the party) and R.A. Awoonor-Williams
(lawyer). They demanded that, given their education, the colonial administration should respect
them and accord them positions of responsibility. The ‘Big Six’ as they were called were all
highly educated people and most of them had had further education in Britain.

50
In 1949 Kwame Nkrumah founded the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), after breaking away
from the UGCC. His outlook and approach were radically different. Nkrumah and the CPP asked
for “self-government now”. He appealed directly to the masses and received support from
influential local people. He went ahead to start a campaign of “positive action” intending to
instigate widespread strikes and non-violent resistance. Some violent disorder landed Nkrumah in
prison, increasing his prestige and support. In February 1951, Nkrumah (though still in jail) won
the first elections that were held for the Legislative Assembly under a new constitution, this made
him the leader of Government Business. Ghana became independent on March 6, 1957, with
Kwame Nkrumah as the first prime minister. It was the first nation in black Africa to come out of
colonial rule. On July 1, 1960, Ghana became a republic with Nkrumah winning the presidential
election that year. By 1964 Ghana had been declared a one party state.

5.2 Economic situation

Table 5.1: Ghana’s GDP per capita from 1951-1966

GDP Per Capita (1951- 1966)

$1 600

$1 400

$1 200

$1 000
GDP Per Capita

Ghana
$800
Africa

$600

$400

$200

$0
1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966
Years

51
In 1951 when Dr. Nkrumah became prime minister of The Gold Coast, there were substantial
financial reserves as a result of the Cocoa Marketing Board. By 1946 the reserves amounted to £
20 million and by 1951 they had reached almost £200 million. 61
The colonial government had initiated a Ten Year Plan which Dr. Nkrumah succeeded in
implementing in 5 years. Dr. Nkrumah was limited in his efforts between 1951 and 1956 because
Ghana was still colony and was ultimately controlled by Britain. As Prime Minister he could
lobby to have plans made and changed but he did not have ultimate control over the legislature,
the Judiciary or the Finances of the country.
Dr. Nkrumah was focused on making Ghana an industrialized country. He invited a prominent
economist, Arthur Lewis, a liberal British professor of economics to survey the potential the
nation had in terms of industrialisation. The economist recommended the following 62 :
1. A modest programme of state encouragement to industry.
2. Reform and strengthening of the industrial development cooperation.
3. Some funds should be set aside for investments in joint enterprises, industrial estates and
a limited number of state factories with ‘pioneering’ or public utility status.
The government was asked not to go beyond the third point but to instead consider foreign
private enterprise as a main source of funds and technical expertise for industrial development.
Nkrumah put much effort in developing infrastructure and development to lay a foundation for
industry to rise in the future. Dr. Nkrumah laid roads and built bridges. In 1951 Ghana had 3,500
miles of trunk and town roads out of which only 939 were tarred. By 1960 there were 4,420 miles
of road and over 1,900 of them were tarred to the highest standard at the time 63 . The railroad
system was extended to new cocoa growing areas. By 1965, Ghana was judged to posses a
physical infrastructure capacity that could last for many years. Until Rawlings came to office in
the 1980s no new major roads were added to what had been done in Nkrumah’s era. The
Government also undertook the construction of the Akosombo Hydroelectric dam which provided
electricity for the country to use and export. This was an unaffordable project and funds and Dr.
Nkrumah had to lobby for part of the cost to be underwritten on condition that it formed a
consortium with Reynolds Aluminium to utilize about two-thirds of the power in aluminium

61
Philip Foster , Education and Social Change in Ghana, p. 179
62
Andrezei Krassowski, Development and the Debt Trap – Economic Planning and External Borrowing in Ghana,
p.21
63
Dzorgbo Dan-Bright S., Ghana in Search of Development -The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building,, pg 154

52
smelting in Ghana a deal that did not favour Ghana. The Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO),
was given many concessions by the government, it was given cheap energy and a tax moratorium
of 30 years permitting VALCO to import construction materials and alumina free of tax for 30
years. Also VALCO was permitted not to pay tax on export of its aluminium ingots and profits
for 10 years. This agreement was a source of grief for the future governments, especially in the
Rawlings Era.

The dam created an artificial lake that served as the source of energy for the country, a means of
irrigation, a fishing ground and a means of transportation from the Volta Region to the Northern
part of the country. 64

Dr. Nkrumah also worked hard to establish effective transport and communication by expanding
post and telecommunication services and expanding the country’s broadcasting service. He also
created a National Airline, a maritime company among other developments. There was also
nuclear research with support from Russian scientists. There was a large number of state owned
enterprises. All these ambitious developments were done at great cost to the economy. The
government expenditure constantly exceeded its revenue, corroding the country’s reserves. By
1960 the world price for cocoa Ghana’s main export crop began to fall. Unfortunately
investments in government enterprises such as the state farms did not yield the expected returns,
instead they recorded massive losses.

Explanations given for the failure of the state-owned enterprises were excessive political
interference, lack of managerial and technical skills, over-staffing, corruption and nepotism. The
majority of the equipment was from Russia due to Nkrumah’s communist sympathies. The
equipment was usually unsuitable for the tropical conditions and the locals lacked the skills to
repair them, resulting in great losses.

Dr. Nkrumah did rapidly lay a foundation for industrial development but the pace was far too
rapid leaving the country in great debt by the time he was overthrown.

64
This lake however is a source of worry in recent time because the stumps of felled trees make navigation
dangerous and snagging fishing nets.

53
5.3 Brief History
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s educational background is very interesting and worth noticing. He
obtained his early education from the colonial mission school in Half Assini. In 1930 Kwame
Nkrumah obtained Teacher's Certificate from the Prince of Wales’ College at Achimota. After
that he taught in a Roman Catholic School in the Central region; he moved up to become a Head
teacher in a Roman Catholic junior School in the Western Region. In 1932 he went back to the
Central region and taught at a Roman Catholic Seminary.

From 1935 till 1945 Dr. Kwame Nkrumah pursued further studies in the United States of
America. By 1939 he had earned a bachelor degree in Economics and Sociology; and by 1942 he
had another bachelor degree, in Theology both from Lincoln University. In 1945 Kwame
Nkrumah had masters degrees in Education and Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1945 he went to London to study Law and complete the thesis for a doctorate he had started in
The University of Pennsylvania, but instead became actively involved in organizing the 6th Pan-
African Congress in Manchester and continued to work for the ‘decolonization’ of Africa.

Dr. Nkrumah’s background as a teacher and head teacher at home as well as his varied
educational background ( Economics, Sociology, Theology, Philosophy, Law and Education) in
the USA should have given him a foundation for (re)structuring the educational system after
independence.

5.4 Development of Education

In August of 1951 the government introduced the Accelerated Development Plan for education.
This was implemented in January of 1952. The aim was to provide rapid development of
education at all levels. Primary education was compulsory and free, which was in direct
contradiction to Guggisberg’s thirteenth principle. The government also subsidised the mission
schools and encouraged local councils to set up schools. Enrolment in primary and middle
schools increased by approximately 150%. 65 There was the introduction of free text books at the
primary and secondary levels.

65
Dzorgbo Dan-Bright S., Ghana in Search of Development -The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building,, pg 153

54
At the middle school level there was the Seventh Standard School Leaving Certificate
Examination that was in place. This examination was a country-wide examination organised and
certified by the West African Examination Council. The Seventh Standard School Leaving
Certificate Examination was then replaced by an internal assessment that authorised head
teachers to issue localised internal certificates.
The Ghana Educational Trust set up by Dr. Nkrumah, the government and The Cocoa Marketing
Board together funded the construction of new secondary schools. There was a five-fold increase
in enrolments in government-approved secondary, technical and vocational schools. New teacher
training colleges were built. To retain trained teachers the salaries of teachers were increase.

The University of Ghana was expanded and began employing Ghanaian lecturers. The Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology was established in 1951 to provide training in
technology, pharmacy, agriculture, real estate management, engineering, science, agriculture and
building technology. The cost of university education, including tuition and housing, was totally
free. Many students were awarded scholarships to further studies in medicine, science and law
outside the country. The Korle-bu hospital and Akomfo Anokye hospitals were also expanded to
become teaching hospitals for Accra and Kumasi respectively.

As the government tried to develop all sectors at once it became evident in some situations, the
need for educated people to take up certain responsibilities. A survey done by the National
Investment Bank at the request of the Nkrumah government noted that the co-operatives
developed by ADC did not operate as true co-operatives. Those who administered them knew
little of co-operative practise. In some places, they were administered by chiefs who assigned
work in a semblance of old communal patterns. No proper auditing and accounting were done,
and they lacked managerial and technical skills. 66

5.5 Philosophy / Focus

Dr. Nkrumah wanted the whole educational system to be geared toward producing a scientifically
and technically minded people. He felt that limitations had been place on the people; and they had

66
Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright, Ghana in Search of Development-The Challenge of Governance, Economic Management
and Institutional Building, p.156

55
to produce, of necessity, a higher standard of technical education than what was necessary in
many of the most advanced countries of the Western world. He admitted that, at first sight it
might have seemed that the problems of an adequate educational system were beyond the
resources of the country. However, it was not if the problems were approached in a strictly
realistic manner.

Dr. Nkrumah wanted to have a highly literate population for two main reasons. The first was to
ensure that the nation would be freed from the ‘colonial mentality’ and the second was to curb
unemployment and generate economic growth. He planned to have both young and old educated.
The young would all be encouraged to go through formal education and the old would be
encouraged to participate in the Mass Literacy and Mass Education programme.

To ensure that the ‘colonial mentality’ was being dealt with Dr. Nkrumah instituted the Young
Pioneer Movement in 1960 that was attended by young children. For adults he established the
Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute at Winneba. In 1964 all students entering the university
had to attend a two-week indoctrination course. In terms of formal education, there was the drive
to educate as many people as possible. The minimum level of education targeted was middle
school level hence, the rapid expansion of the primary and middle school sectors. This educated
base was to resolve the problem of unemployment because they were to be equipped with
practical skills that would enable them to work in the key sectors of the economy. Dr. Nkrumah
focused on developing an industrialised nation that the educated labour force would feed. Dr.
Nkrumah hoped to develop the science, vocational and technical sectors at the tertiary and
secondary levels. For this reason technical institutes were built and scholarships were given to
those studying in those areas.

5.6 Outcomes
There were a number of problems with the rapid expansion of education. To begin with, there
were too few teachers in the classrooms to cope with the rapid expansion at the primary level.
Since there were too few classrooms and trained teachers to meet the growing demand for
secondary school education also, there seemed to be a fall in the standard of education. Generally,
books supplied were too few in number and were poorly handled. There was also a bottleneck at

56
the primary level because not all students could gain access to the few secondary schools. These
students drifted into the urban areas increasing the number of unemployed.

The localised middle school certificates also created some problems. The new certificates were
not regarded highly by parents, teachers and pupils because the certificates were not given for a
countrywide examination. Most preferred a nationwide certification. Pupils lost their motivation
to work hard at their studies. Because of the general discontent, a nationwide examination was
reintroduced.

At the secondary school level there was expansion but the classrooms and laboratories did not
always conform to the required specifications because the areas in which they were situated were
unsuitable and had unacceptable sanitary conditions. Because there were so many new schools
there were also a good many new and inexperienced head teachers.

Even though there were a number of technical institutes developed, some critics allude that not
enough attention was paid to their development. Technical institutes were neglected firstly
because of limited funding. Most of the funding went to the development of secondary schools.
Secondly, most students preferred academic work in secondary schools. Beyond that, those who
did opt for technical training preferred to gain it in the universities which were more academic
than technical. Often those who acquired technical training in the universities were eventually
employed in administrative or managerial positions creating a need for practical technical
expertise.
Even though teachers where encouraged to stay in the teaching profession with an increase in
salary, a good number of trained teachers still left, creating much waste.

At the University level, Dr. Nkrumah personally promoted and deported professors. This lowered
morale and sparked the exodus of both foreign and local professors.

57
5.6.1 Primary Level

The first time a common syllabus for all primary schools was introduced was in 1958. The
content of primary education during this era was related to the environment of the school in
question and prominence was given to subjects such as practical hygiene and village sanitation.
Other subjects taught were physical education, games, health education, religious knowledge,
Ghana languages, and needlework, African drumming and dancing. There was a focus on English
possibly because this would be the main medium of instruction in later years. The most likely
factor that would prevent a school child from entering directly into the secondary school would
be a weakness in English language.

The possibility of including subjects that were context specific to where the child lived was a step
towards making primary school pupils well-rounded and engaged citizens that contribute to
building more cohesive and participatory societies. This in some ways was a reintroduction of
Guggisberg's tenth principle. 67 The curriculum had elements of academic, physical and social
training. The element of social training gave more immediate proof of the child’s education.
Parents were bound to be more appreciative of the child’s education. The teaching of Ghana
languages, African drumming and dance kept the pupils in touch with their traditional heritage
and kept them from becoming mis-educated.

If this system functioned as portrayed in the reports then, it would have had a high economic,
intrinsic and social value. Subjects such as hygiene and village sanitation would by far improve
the living conditions of the educated with time. An improvement in sanitation would also reduce
the incidence of disease and decrease the necessary investment in health. Speaking with some
citizens who were present at the time, it seemed that the education was taking root and pupils did
endeavour to practise what they had been taught at school. Parents were to some degree willing to
learn from their wards because they acknowledged the fact that their wards were being
‘enlightened’ through the education they had received.

67
See Appendix 4.1

58
The main drawback in this instance is the rapid expansion at the expense of quality. Because
there were not enough teachers to take up the necessary classes one can assume that the education
being given would not have been optimal. The expectations of the government, the citizens and
the pupils seem to have been met at this stage.

In terms of economic development a highly educated base made for cost cutting in areas such as
health and public literacy campaigns. The increase in literacy makes for easier dissemination of
information.

5.6.2 Middle School level

The middle school had two functions. Firstly, it provided a four year course to bring students to
the level of taking the common entrance exam before entering the secondary school. At any point
within the four years the students could attempt to sit the secondary school entrance exam and
continue to secondary school upon passing. (It should be noted that the secondary school entrance
examination tested only English and Arithmetic at this time.) Alternatively, students could enter
the world of work after four years of middle school training. In the fourth year of middle school
students took a Middle School Leaving Examination.

According to the Education Report of 1958 to 1960, middle school training was meant to develop
its students as socially responsible citizens of a democratic nation, who upon leaving school will
take their places as fellow-citizens in a vigorous and forward-looking community, and who
should have some appreciation of the duty they owe to their family, to their immediate social
environment and to the state at large.

Subjects taught were Arithmetic, English, Ghana Languages, Geography, History, Civics, Arts
and Crafts, Housecraft (for girls only), Needlework, Gardening, Physical Education, Religious
Knowledge, Hygiene, Music, and Woodwork (for boys only). Woodwork and Housecraft were
taught subject to the availability of a facilities and qualified teachers. Generally there would be
Woodwork and Housecraft centres serving a group of middle schools. The Middle School
Leaving Examination was to provide a nationally recognised qualification. In the Educational
Review report of 1967, middle school education was seen as a contributory factor to the country’s

59
unemployment problems because, the education students received was not oriented towards
productive employment. By this, the report was referring to the inadequate supply of technical
and skilled craftsmen being produced by the middle schools. The report went on to further
suggest that the training given should be suited to the needs of the industry.

A look at the results of the Middle School Leaving Examination shows an approximate average
of 62% successful passes. What would the percentage of students who did not pass the Middle
School Leaving Examination do? As at 1960, this represented approximately 9,500 students
annually. This group of students would most likely become unemployed.

The middle school provided four chances to those who wanted to enter the secondary school and
at the same time gave them additional skills if they could not do so and had to enter the world of
work. This was a positive way to handle a possible back log of students who would find it
difficult to enter secondary school because of the increased emphasis on English language as a
requirement. However the middle school was unable to adequately prepare students who took the
Middle School Leaving Examination, for the world of work. As explained above approximately
60% of the students passed and yet could not be absorbed into the economy; for this reason
middle school provided an under-education.

5.6.3 Expectations
Since only about 10% to 9% of the students who went to middle school did so primarily to enter
secondary school, the responsibility of the middle school to train students for the world of work
was implicitly greater. However it is in this regard that it was unsuccessful. Government at the
time admitted that it would take time for the middle school curriculum to be fashioned in a more
practical way.

Students from the middle school would have had the basic educational requirement that an
employer would seek but disappointingly, they did not have the skills that were most needed in
the economy, creating unemployment and a rural-urban drift.

60
The middle school system did ensure that whoever had been given basic education was relatively
highly educated and for this reason had a high social and intrinsic value for the individual. This
value would have pervaded the society as well, because it would help eliminate problems
associated with lack of basic education and literacy (such as simple diseases and; ignorance of
law and social norms). As testified by older generations, a middle school leaver would be able to
read, write, work simple arithmetic and have a skill for work; creating more freedom of choice.
Middle school education was adequate for clerical duties and gave the option for further studies
in the secondary school, technical institute or the university. A minor drawback was that a
relatively small section of students did not continue to middle school for financial reasons.

On the whole middle school education contributed positively in creating an educated nation but
was not adequately structured to curb unemployment.

5.6.4 Secondary School Level

According to the Ministry of Education Report for the years 1958 to 1960 secondary education
has usefulness not only in promoting the culture of a nation, but is also serves as a factor for
economic, social and political development. On the ground however, secondary schools were
regarded as preparatory for higher education. The curriculum of secondary schools was
dominated by entrance requirements of universities. At the time, the university requirement of the
University of Ghana was based on the external examination of the University of London because
they had a special relationship. It follows then that the curriculum was indirectly being influenced
by a foreign body. To tackle this problem and to ensure that final exams promoted rather than
hindered education, local examinations were introduced to replace the final examinations given
by the Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. The examinations taken were the School
Certificate (at the 5th form) and Higher School Certificate Examinations (at the upper 6th form)
conducted by the West African Examinations Council. This did not change the fact that
secondary school education was traditionally focused on providing students with knowledge to
pass their exams and that students chose subjects in accordance with university entrance
requirements.

61
The lack of qualified teachers due to the rapid expansion of primary and secondary schools
proved to be a major problem and did affect the quality of education being given.

5.6.4.1 Expectations
The Ministry of Education Report for the years 1958 to 1960 states that
“Secondary education has usefulness not only in promoting the culture of a nation, but is also
serves as a factor for economic, social and political development”.
Looking at the actual developments however, not much of these ideals (cultural, economic, social
and political development) were promoted since the curriculum was focused on entrance into the
universities.

Parents and student expectations would have been let down. Since the main aim of secondary
schooling became to enter the universities, it was a disappointment that not all students were able
to gain access into the university.

Altogether, secondary school education did not fulfil the reason for which it had been created.
Though it did have an intrinsic value, this would be quite low if they could not enter the
university or workforce. The university had limited space and unemployment was high.

On the whole, the increase in educational reach at the lower levels should ensure an increase in
productivity to some degree. This effect would be little felt because of the overall state of the
economy at the time. Public offices were overstaffed and industries were built to create jobs and
pacify political supporters without much regard for the factors of production, therefore industries
soon collapsed.

62
 6
The ‘Cocktail’ Regime (1966 – 1981)

All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of
empires depends on the education of youth.
- Aristotle
(384–322 BC) Greek philosopher, studied under Plato

This chapter describes the trend of events that ensued during a period of extreme political
turbulence, from 1966 to 1981. Within this period there were number of coup d'états and each
government had barely enough time to make a full educational reform. Each government did
affect educational system in some way considering the fact that students were a strong political
force at the time. Support from students was often a necessary ingredient for assuming political
office and retaining office. This chapter does not go in-depth to analyse the contributions of the
various levels of education but instead examines substantial policies and actions that had long
term effects on Ghana’s educational system. The chapter does not consider every political change
within the period because some changes in government were for extremely short periods. There
is, however a brief description of the educational background of the main leader and the political
climate at the time and a description of changes in the educational system. At the very end there
is an overview of the major trend of educational developments. The table below shows the
timeline of the various governments.
Table 6.1: Summary of Ghana Government Leadership from 1966 to 1992
Leaders Governments Other comments Years No. of
yrs.
1. Lt. Gen. Akwasi National He became the chairman of the NLC (1966-1969) 3 years
Liberation and Head of Government in 1969 in
Amankwa Afrifa
Council (NLC) place of the first chairman Lt. Gen.
Joseph Ankrah
2. Dr. Kofi Abrefa Progress Party (1969- 1972) 3 years
Busia (PP)
3. Colonel Ignatius National In 1975 the NRC was reorganized to (1972- 1975) 3 years
Kutu Acheampong Redemption become the Supreme Military
Council Council I (SMC I).
(NRC)

63
4. Colonel Ignatius Supreme (1975-1978) 3 years
Military
Kutu Acheampong
Council I
(SMC I)
5. Major-General Supreme (1978 – 1979) 1 year
Military
Fredrick William 6.
Council II
Kwasi Akuffo (SMC II)

7. Flt. Jeremiah John Armed Forces 1979 3 months

Revolutionary
Rawlings
Council
(AFRC)
8. Dr. Hilla Limann Peoples (1979-1981) 2 years
National Party
(PNP)
9. Flt. Jeremiah John Provisional In 1992 he retired from the army and 1981-1992 11 years
National stood for democratic elections on the
Rawlings
Defence ticket of the National Democratic
Council Congress (NDC)
(PNDC)
10. Mr. Jeremiah John National 1992-1999 8 years
Democratic
Rawlings 68
Congress
(NDC)

68
Flt. Jeremiah John Rawlings had given up his Military title

64
6.1 Economic Trend of the period
Table 6.2: Ghana’s GDP per capita from 1967 to 1980

GDP Per Capita (1967-1980)

$1 600

$1 400

$1 200

$1 000
GDP Per Capita

Ghana
$800
Africa

$600

$400

$200

$0
1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980
Years

After the Nkrumah government the country had over US$ 500 million in medium- and long-term
debts, as well as, US$72 million in interest accrued on these debts. There were also millions of
dollars in short-term commercial credits. Within the country, an even larger internal debt also
fueled inflation.

Ghana's economy remained largely dependent upon the export of cocoa. Revenue from cocoa
provided about half of the country's foreign currency earnings. Beginning in the 1960s, however,
foreign competition (particularly from neighboring Côte d'Ivoire), a lack of understanding of
free-market forces (by the government in setting prices paid to farmers), accusations of
bureaucratic incompetence in the Cocoa Marketing Board, and the smuggling of crops into Côte
d'Ivoire caused income from cocoa to fall considerably.

In the wake of these economic conditions the Busia government expelled a large number of non
citizens from the country and limited foreign involvement in small businesses. The moves were
aimed at relieving the unemployment created by the country's precarious economic situation. The

65
policies were popular because they forced out of the retail sector of the economy foreigners
(especially Lebanese, Asians, and Nigerians), who were perceived as unfairly monopolizing trade
to the disadvantage of Ghanaians. The cedi was devalued by over 40% to encourage foreign
investment in the industrial sector of the economy. This move unfortunately was not supported by
the public.

In its first years, the National Redemption Council reversed some of the policies of the previous
government. The Ghanaian currency was revalued upward. The government brought debt relief
by simply refusing to pay debts to British companies owed by the Nkrumah regime, and
unilaterally rescheduled of the rest of the country's debts for payment over fifty years. Later, the
NRC nationalized all large foreign-owned companies.

To foster self reliance, the Operation Feed Yourself program was introduced. All Ghanaians were
encouraged to undertake some form of food production, with the goal of eventual food self-
sufficiency for the country. In the short term these measures were hailed but they were unable to
solve the underlining problems.

By1974, the economy had taken a down turn due to many overriding factors. Industry and
transportation suffered greatly as world oil prices rose, and the lack of foreign exchange and
credit left the country without fuel. Basic food production continued to decline even as the
population grew. World cocoa prices rose again in the late 1970s but Ghana was unable to take
advantage of the price rise because of the low productivity of its old orchards. In addition to this,
the low prices paid to cocoa farmers caused some growers along the nation's borders to smuggle
their produce to Togo or Côte d'Ivoire.

The Supreme Military Council II (SMC II) was faced with an estimated inflation of 300%. There
were shortages of basic commodities, and cocoa production fell by half.

The Limann government inherited these problems and estimated the Ghanaian inflation rate at 70
percent for that year, with a budget deficit equal to 30 percent of the gross national product. To
compound this there were a number of strikes organized by the Trade Union Congress because it

66
claimed that its workers were no longer earning enough to pay for food. Each strike lowered
productivity and therefore national income.

In 1983 the first phase of an Economic Recovery Program (ERP) was launched by the PNDC. Its
goal was economic stability. The government wanted to reduce inflation and to create confidence
in the nation's ability to recover. By 1987 the rate of inflation had dropped to 20 percent and
between 1983 and 1987, Ghana's economy reportedly grew at 6 percent per year. Official
assistance from donor countries to Ghana's recovery program was on the increase. The
government also made a remarkable payment of more than US$500 million in loan arrears dating
to before 1966. In recognition of these achievements, international agencies had pledged more
than US$575 million to the country's future programs by May 1987.

Despite the successes of Phase One of the ERP, many problems remained including a high rate of
Ghanaian unemployment as a result of the belt-tightening policies.

The PNDC inaugurated Phase Two of the ERP, which envisioned privatization of state-owned
assets, currency devaluation, and increased savings and investment, and which was to continue
until 1990.

6.2 Regimes
6.2.1 Lt. Gen. Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa (1966-1969)

6.2.1.1 Brief History

Lt. Gen. Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa had his elementary and secondary school education in
Presbyterian Boys Boarding School in Mampong, Ashanti Region and Adisadel College in Cape
Coast, Central Region respectively. He joined the Regular Officer's Special Training School in
1957. From1957 to 1961 he was in England and attended the Mons Officer Cadet School in
Aldershot, the Military Academy in Sandhurst and School of Infantry in Hythe. In 1966 he
became the Commanding Officer, Second Battalion of the infantry. It was here that he and his
superior later Lt.-Colonel Kotoka, planned and carried out the coup that toppled the Nkrumah
government. The National Liberation Council (NLC) was an eight-man ruling government. He
became the chairman of the NLC and Head of Government in 1969 when the then chairman Lt.

67
Gen. Joseph Ankrah was forced to resign as Chairman of NLC and Head of State over a bribery
scandal. In 1970 he was the Chairman of Presidential Commission that acted in place of a
President until one was appointed. He did hand over government to Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia. In
1979 he was picked up from his farm at Mampong and executed by firing squad alongside other
top military officials during the uprising by Fl. Lt. J.J. Rawlings.

6.2.1.2 Activities in Educational Sector

In 1966 The National Liberation Council (NLC) appointed The Mills-Odoi Commission and the
Educational Review Committee to review the educational system. The Mills-Odoi Commission
gave recommendations that were reluctantly implemented by the new government and the
Educational Review Committee carried out a comprehensive reform on the entire educational
system. The Mills-Odoi Commission suggested the following:
• To allow regional and district authorities to manage secondary schools and teacher
training colleges instead of the Ministry of Education
• To improve the remuneration of teachers through the establishment of a Teaching Service
Division of the Public Service Commission.

The Educational Review Committee did the following:

• Streamlined education in accordance with the British system
• Inspected private schools
• Standardized fees for private schools, boarding students and day students
• Had only merit based scholarships awarded
In 1968 there was a Two-Year Development Plan that emphasised the need to improve the
standard of education and to link manpower requirements with educational output.

6.2.2 Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia (1969- 1972)

6.2.2.1 Brief History

Kofi Abrefa Busia began his education at a Methodist School inWenchi, Brong Ahafo Region
then went on to Mfantsipim College in Cape Coast, Central Region for his secondary education.
From 1936 to 1939 he trained as a teacher at the Achimota College. He also gained a first degree

68
in Medievial and Modem History from the University of London, through correspondence during
this period.

In 1941 he attended Oxford University in England and gained a BA and an MA in Politics,

Philosophy & Economics. He continued to study until he had a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology. He
later joined politics in Ghana and in 1951 became the leader of Ghana Congress Party. As leader
of the opposition against Nkrumah, Busia felt his life threatened and fled to England in 1959. He
returned to Ghana after the coup in 1966 and was appointed Chairman of the National Advisory
Committee of the NLC. In 1968 when the NLC lifted the ban on politics, Busia, together with
friends formed the Progress Party, (PP) that won elections in 1969. As prime minister he adopted
a liberalized economic system. There was the Aliens Compliance Order which forced foreigners,
especially Lebanese, Asians, and Nigerians out of Ghana. This particular move was hailed by
citizens because, foreigners were perceived as unfairly monopolizing trade to the disadvantage of
Ghanaians. However the devaluation of the cedi by 44% in 1971 and the introduction of a student
loan scheme were met with a lot of resistance from the public. In 1972 while in Britain for a
medical check-up, the army under Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong overthrew his
government. He died of a heart attack in 1978.

6.2.2.2 Activities in Educational Sector

In 1969 the Busia Administration assumed power. The plans for education were presented in a
One-Year Development Plan. There was an attempt to further expand the secondary schools to
absorb the increasing number of middle school leavers and to make it more practical. Plans were
made for more secondary schools offering agriculture and technical courses to be built. To make
secondary school more ‘practical’ subjects such as metal work, domestic science and agriculture
were added to the curriculum.

Unlike the Nkrumah regime 69 , the government established the National Council for Higher
Education to advice on staff recruitment and conditions of service of staff of Universities. The
government introduced the Student Loan Scheme for undergraduates to cut down on educational
expenditure. Unfortunately, this was not taken well by students who had initially received
university education free because it was interpreted as introducing a class system into the
69
Dr. Nkrumah was personally involved in recruiting and deporting lecturers in the Universities

69
country's highest institutions of learning.The Busia Administration was short lived and unable to
carry out all its plans before being overthrown in 1972.

6.2.3 Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (1972- 1978)

6.2.3.1 Brief History

Acheampong was born in Kuamsi in the Ashanti Region; he attended Trabuom Elementary
School, St. Peter's Catholic School, Kumasi, and Central College of Commerce, Swedru in the
Central Region. He left school with a Middle School Certificate; GCE 'O' Level and a Diploma in
Commerce. Between 1945 and 1951 Acheampong worked as a stenographer/secretary at the
Timber Sawmill in Kumasi. He later taught at Kumasi Commercial College and was Vice
Principal at Agona-Swedru College of Commerce.

In 1951, he enlisted as a Private in the colonial army and went on a training course in Aldershot,
England where he was commissioned Second Lieutenant. From 1959-1966, Acheampong
attended several courses and he became the Commanding Officer of the 5th and 6th battalion.
From 1966 to1971 he was Chairman for the Western Regional Committee of Administration and
between the years of 1971 and1972; he served as Commander, First Infantry Brigade. In 1972,
Acheampong used the general discontent on Busia's devaluation of the cedi by 44% to stage a
military coup which overthrew Busia's government, and made himself Head of State, Chairman
of the National Redemption Council (NRC). In 1975 the NRC was reorganized to become the
Supreme Military Council I (SMC I) with membership restricted to fewer military officers.

As Head of State, General Acheampong suspended the 1969 constitution and banned political
activity. Acheampong proposed a 'Union Government' in which power would be shared by
civilian politicians and the armed forces, thus doing away with partisan politics; this led to violent
student demonstrations and the closure of Ghana's universities.
Acheampong was so unpopular by 1978 that there were protests by the Popular Movement for
Freedom and Justice, led by Lt. Gen. Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa; demanding a return to civilian
rule. General Acheampong was soon ousted by his military colleagues of the Supreme Military
Council and replaced by General Akuffo in July 1978. In 1979 he was killed by firing squad

70
during the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) uprising led by Flight Lieutenant
Jeremiah John Rawlings.

6.2.3.2 Activities in Educational Sector

The National Redemption Council (NRC) led by Colonel I.K. Acheampong abolished the Student
Loan Scheme. To save on educational expenditure, the government instead planned to reduce the
duration of pre-university education from 17 to 13 years. Once again when education was
reviewed emphasis was placed on the need for vocational, practical and technical subjects in pre-
university institutions. To start the process of shortening education and making it practical, a
teacher training programme was introduced to prepare specialist teachers over a period of 3 years.
Six colleges were also assigned to offer diplomas courses for teachers in specialized courses such
as home science, agriculture and technical education.
Students were mobilized from secondary schools, training colleges and universities to undertake
community projects such as construction of dams, and harvesting crops. It introduced the
National Service scheme that required students to do one year of national service after graduation
from university or college. Students were sent to any part of the country that needed their skills.
In 1978 the reign of the NRC came to an end with a coup d'état just as it had come in.

6.2.4 Major-General Fredrick William Kwasi Akuffo (1978 – 1979)

6.2.4.1 Brief History

From 1952 to 1955 Major-General F.W.K. Akuffo attended the Presbyterian Secondary School,
Odumasi Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana. In 1957 he enlisted as an Officer-Cadet in the
Ghana Army and went to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom from
1958 to 1960 and later to the National Defence College in India. By 1970 he had become the
Director General, Operations and Planning, Ministry of Defence. By 1975 he was an Army
commander and a member of the ruling Supreme Military Council I (SMC I).

In 1976, as Chief of Defence Staff General Akuffo and other members of the SMC used the
public's discontent for General Acheampong's misrule as the basis of staging a coup d'état on
July 5, 1978 to remove Acheampong. The coup makers formed SMC II and made Akuffo the

71
Chairman. The Akuffo regime initiated moves to return the country to civilian rule by instituting
a new Constitution Drafting Committee. He lifted the ban on politics but banned 105 prominent
politicians. Unfortunately, Akuffo could not solve the country's economic problems and this
made workers go on demonstrations. On June 4th 1979, Flt. Lt. J. J. Rawlings overthrew the
SMCII. Akuffo was picked up and together with Colonel Acheampong and were killed by firing
squad at the Teshie military range.

6.2.4.2 Activities in Educational Sector

The Supreme Military Council II (SMC II) was lead by Major-General F.W.K. Akuffo in 1978
but was quickly overthrown in June 1979 by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)
led by Flight Lieutenant Jeremiah John Rawlings. In support of the new government, students
voluntarily undertook community project such as helping in cocoa harvesting. The AFRC handed
over to the civilian administration of Dr. Hilla Limann within four months.

6.2.5 Dr. Hilla Limann (1979-1981)

6.2.5.1 Brief History

Dr. Hilla Limann, between 1941 and 1945 attended Lawra Confederacy Native Authority School
and then moved on to the Government Middle School in Tamale from 1946 to 1949. In 1952 he
became the District Councilor of the Tlumu District Council in the Upper West Region. He sat
for Parliamentary elections as an independent candidate, but lost in 1954. Three years later he
went to the London School of Economics to study Political Science. He continued to study at the
University of Paris in 1960 and gained a Ph.D. in Political Science & Constitutional Law. He
went back to the UK to study in the University of London where he gained a BA (Hons.) in
History between 1962 and 1964. Back at home, in 1979 when the ban on politics was lifted, he
stood for election on the ticket of the Peoples National Party (PNP) and won. Once sworn-in as
President of Ghana's Third Republic, he immediately replenished food stock, which had been
depleted by the AFRC's three-month rule. On 31st December, 1981 he was overthrown by Flight-
Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings. Limann lived a private life and although he tried to re-enter
politics in 1992 he failed in his bid to win the presidential elections of that year as the candidate
of the People's National Convention. His last effort in politics was to try and unite the fractured

72
Nkrumaists front and was co-chairman of the Unity Talks aimed at bringing all Nkrumaists under
one-fold. He died on 23rd January 1998 of natural causes.

6.2.5.2 Activities in Educational Sector

Dr. Limann also tried to cut the cost of education at the secondary school level by announcing
that parents would have to bear 75% of feeding cost of wards in secondary schools, more day
secondary schools would be built and existing boarding schools would eventually be made day
schools. This announcement was very unpopular and Dr. Limann was overthrown in 1981 by the
one who had offered him power, Flight-Lieutenant J.J. Rawlings. This time Rawlings led the
Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC). As will be seen in the next chapter some years
later the PNDC had to implement the drastic measures Limann had suggested and was unpopular
for.

6.3 Overall trend of Activities in Educational sector

There are underlying similarities and differences between the regimes above. Firstly,
Guggisberg’s reasoning that education was too costly to be entirely free rings true. It is obvious in
this turbulent time that the burden of government fully financing primary schools, middle schools
and universities was unbearable and there had to be some cost cutting measure. The challenge
was to cut cost without alienating a section of society and loosing political popularity. There also
seemed to be confusion as to which level of education needed cost cutting.

Secondly, it is also clear that each regime noticed the need to expand secondary education to
absorb the increased number of middle school leavers. The expansion of primary schools and
middle schools in the First Republic was taking its toll on the society with the increasing number
of students unable to gain admission to the limited number of secondary schools.

Thirdly, each government manifests the need for practical manpower skills. While some
governments relied on taking students out of the classrooms directly to the place of need others
sought more long term solutions such as improving the curriculum to make students more
practically oriented.

73
Some of the actions during these taken during this time had long term effects on education. In
1972 under the National Redemption Council led by Colonel I.K. Acheampong a committee was
appointed under the chairmanship of Rev. Dr. N. K. Dzobo. The report presented by this
committee was later adopted by another military government, the Provisional National Defense
Council as the basis of a major reform. Pre-university education was shortened from 17 years to
13 years. Even though there was an attempt to implement majority of the report, preparation did
not seem as painstakingly done as with the NRC, causing a great deal of problems.

The National Service Scheme introduced by the NRC was continued and still exists today.
Unfortunately it is not fully playing its intended role of using students’ skills where it is most
needed. Current problems with the scheme include the reluctance of students to go to rural areas.
It is not uncommon to find students lobbying for better service posts or refusing to do national
service altogether. Some students, who do go, often find that there is very little work to do
because facilities for working may not be available, making the service a total waste of human
resource. There have also been problems of paying for the students’ upkeep during this period.
There have been calls for better terms of service for National Service Personnel including
remuneration and housing.

For the reasons above students prefer to request for service with private companies. The private
companies pay a fixed sum per student to the National Service Secretariat to hire students on
National service. Overall, students hired in this manner are better paid and are more engaged.
Often students remain with these private firms as full time employees after National Service. It is
a relatively easy way to recruit skilled labour at a low cost for private companies and is a relief to
the National Service Secretariat, which will receive some money and will not have to be
responsible for the student’s remuneration. This arrangement may be convenient but it
undermines the purpose of the scheme. The benefits of student skills are no longer being used in
the rural areas where they are needed and yet cannot be afforded, but instead by the urban
companies that can pay for it. With time it is likely that the National Service Scheme will have to
be entirely remodeled or put to an end.

74
 7
The Rawlings Regime (1981 – 2000)

There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other
how to live.
- James Truslow Adams

7.1 Economic Situation

Table 7.1: Ghana’s GDP per capita from 1981 to 2000

GDP Per Capita (1981-2000)

$1 600

$1 400

$1 200

$1 000
GDP Per Capita

Ghana
$800
Africa

$600

$400

$200

$0
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Years

Following a severe drought in 1983, the government accepted strict International Monetary Fund
and World Bank loan conditions and instituted the Economic Recovery Program (ERP). 70 The
ERP aimed primarily at enabling Ghana to repay its foreign debts. The program emphasized the

70
The main source of information for the Economic Situation is from the US Library of Congress Country Studies

75
promotion of the export sector and an enforced fiscal stringency, which together aimed to
eradicate budget deficits. The PNDC followed the ERP faithfully and gained the support of the
international financial community. The effects of the ERP on the domestic economy, however,
led to a lowered standard of living for most Ghanaians.

From 1983, the government focused on reducing its expenditures as it created incentives for
private production. Initially expenditure cuts and improved tax collection lowered the budget
deficit, relieving government pressure on the banking system. There were a series of cedi
devaluations to boost export activity. From 1987 to 1989, the government moved to rid itself of
many assets through privatization and to institute radical foreign exchange reforms to devalue the
cedi further. In the latter stages of the ERP, the government intensified monetary reforms and
reduced private corporate taxes to boost private-sector growth.

Ghana’s international financial reputation improved because of its ability to make loan and its
first entry onto the international capital market in almost twenty years. Critics upheld that the
ERP had failed to bring about an essential transformation of the economy, which still relied on
income earned from cocoa and other agricultural commodities. They also argued that Ghanaians
had seen only few benefits from the program.

Regardless of devaluations and rising exports, the government had been unable to fulfill a major
goal of reducing the trade and current account deficits. To stimulate production in various sectors,
the government had taken loans to finance imports of necessary inputs such as machinery,
fertilizer, and petroleum. As a result, the country's foreign debt exceeded US$4 billion in 1991.
The country's debt continued to rise in 1992, and was almost equal to 63 percent of Gross
National Product. To cover the deficits that resulted from loans and increased imports, the
government relied increasingly on foreign aid. Foreign investment, compared with aid, was weak
except in the mining sector, and domestic savings were insufficient to finance the country's
development projects. Government policies produced mixed results in terms of productivity and
debt, and they have also incurred significant social costs through job elimination.

76
7.2 History

Mr. Rawlings’ primary education was at the Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Adabraka,
Accra. He enrolled in Achimota School and left with an O' Level Certificate in August 1966. In
1967 he entered into military training where he excelled in flying and was promoted to Flight
Lieutenant in April 1969.

After a botched coup attempt on 28th May, 1979, Mr. Jeremiah John Rawlings first became the
head of state Ghana through the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) 71 on June 4th of
the same year through a successful military coup. He served for just four months. On September
24th he handed over power to the democratically elected People’s National Party (PNP) 72
government stating during the handing over ceremony that the new government was on
probation 73 . In 1981 Rawlings ousted the PNP government with another coup under the guise of
the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) 74 and remained in power until 2000. In 1992
he retired from the army (relinquishing his army title of Flight Lieutenant) and stood for
democratic elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) 75 . He won two
terms in office (1992 and 1996) and then his party was democratically removed by the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) 76 . Concerning his commitment to democracy:

“Yet there is little evidence that Rawlings was (or is) committed to the democracy per se. He has
long been skeptical of multi-partyism in particular and of its ability to deliver improved living
standards to Ghanaians – not all that surprising when one considers the record of the country’s
elected officials. Indeed, it is often remarked that he was frustrated by the slow pace of decision –
making in a democratic system. Rather, all indications are that Rawlings is a pragmatist and that
in both the economic and political spheres, he was prepared to reform when he judged this as
necessary to secure his own position.” 77

71
Armed Forces Revolutionary Council led by Flight Lt. Jeremiah John Rawlings
72
Peoples National Party headed by Dr. Hilla Limann
73
http://www.ghana.com/republic/presidents/rawlings.html
74
Peoples National Defense Council led by Flight Lt. Jeremiah John Rawlings
75
National Democratic Congress lead by Mr. Jeremiah John Rawlings (he had given up his Military title)
76
New Patriotic Party lead by John Agyekum Kufour
77
Antoinette Handley and Greg Mills, From Military Coups to Multiparty Elections: The Ghanaian Military
Transition, pg. 21

77
It is possible that this spirit of pragmatism and the need to build a stronger support base is what
influenced the reforms that were undertaken by the PNDC. The reform was based on the 1972
Dzobo Commission Report at the time, “The structure and content of Education for Ghana”, was
strongly opposed by the middle classed and the teaching profession. It was in 1986 that the
PNDC government courageously implemented the proposed changes 78 with funding from
international bodies such as the World Bank.

According to the World Bank Report – “Books Buildings and Learning Outcomes” one of the
motivations for undertaking these reforms was to build a broader support base after falling out of
favor with the initial student support base due to the adoption of an International Monetary Fund
(IMF) programme in 1983. The hope was to secure support from the rural areas where education
was either unavailable or in a poor state. Later on in 1992, the Free Compulsory Universal Basic
Education Policy (FCUBE) was introduced to rectify problems with the initial reforms.

7.3 Development of Education

The education reform program adopted in 1986 sought to 79 :
1. Change the structure of the school system by replacing the 6, 4, 7 system with 6, 3, 3,
shortening pre-university education from 17 to 12 years. Middle schools were to be
replaced by JSSs, which would be an integral part of the system for all children, and O
and A-levels replaced with the secondary certificate.

2. Improve the teaching/ learning process by increasing school hours and the quality of
teachers, including the phasing out of untrained teachers (i.e., those with no formal
teaching qualification, often called “pupil teachers”).

3. Increase cost recovery at the secondary and tertiary levels.

78
White, Howard. Books, Buildings, and Learning Outcomes: An Impact Evaluation of World Bank Support to Basic
Education in Ghana. Herndon, VA, USA: World Bank Publications, 2004. pg 8
79
White, Howard. Books, Buildings, and Learning Outcomes: An Impact Evaluation of World Bank Support to
Basic Education in Ghana. Herndon, VA, USA: World Bank Publications, 2004. p 8.

78
 4. Make educational planning and management more effective.

The reforms targeted the restructuring of the secondary school system changing it from four years
of middle school and seven years of secondary school to three years of Junior Secondary School
(JSS) and three years of Senior Secondary School (SSS). In order to change the school system,
the old system was gradually phased out while the new system was being introduced. In school
year 1986/87 the last set of middle school students were admitted and in 1987/88 the first set of
JSS students were admitted. Both systems were run together until 1994/95 when the last batch of
Advanced level (A- level) students went to the university.

So the Primary schools were not altered much in terms of infrastructure, but in many cases
primary schools built additional class rooms to accommodate new JSS students. In this way the
JSS seemed to be an addition to the primary school because it was not uncommon to have both
JSS students and primary school students all on one compound. Many schools are now Primary
and Junior Secondary schools. This development was most likely in line with the efforts of the
previous government to reduce the number of boarding schools.

Having only Senior Secondary School students on the former middle school and secondary
school campuses freed up space for the increased intake of students. Space formerly used for
seven years of education (4 years middle school and 3 years secondary school) was then available
for three years of Senior Secondary School. Most secondary schools prior to this were boarding
schools.

Another contributory factor to joining the JSS with the primary school could have been the fact
that there was no ‘entrance exam’ for the JSS level and once one passed the promotional exam of
the sixth grade one automatically moved on to the JSS as one would have in any other primary
class.

The second aim, improving the teaching and learning process, was to be achieved by increasing
school hours and improving the quality of teachers. Improving the quality of teachers included

79
the phasing out of untrained teachers. According to the World Bank Report on the Support to
Basic Education in Ghana:

“From 1987 to the mid-90s there was a substantial drop in the percentage of untrained teachers
from 50 to 20 percent in primary schools, and 35 to 14 percent in JSSs .This decline has been
reversed in recent years, particularly in primary schools. The reversal is partly because of the
growth of the private school sector, in which most teachers are untrained.” 80

With regard to the other part of stage two of the education reform, is worth questioning whether
merely increasing the number of hours spent in the classroom truly contributes to the aim of
improving the teaching and learning process.

To fulfill the third aim of increasing cost recovery at the secondary and tertiary levels in line with
the nation's Economic Recovery Program introduced in 1983, there were three main actions to be
taken:

1. Increased charges for textbooks

2. Removal of boarding and feeding subsidies for secondary and tertiary institutions
3. Removal of student subsidies for tertiary education

The increased charges for text books were to facilitate the establishment of a revolving fund that
would become the basis for future sustainable text book supply. However this plan failed due to
the fact that the fund was poorly managed and the primary text book charges were abolished in
1995.

Parent contributions to feeding in boarding houses were increased as the government removed
subsidies in secondary schools. In universities, the student protests forced the government to be
more tactful in its approach. Two months after the textbook subsides were removed a loan

80
White, Howard. Books, Buildings, and Learning Outcomes: An Impact Evaluation of World Bank Support to Basic
Education in Ghana. Herndon, VA, USA: World Bank Publications, 2004. p 8.

80
scheme with an element of subsidy was introduced for tertiary institutions. In evaluating the
amount of actual cost recovery the report says:

“While cost recovery has not been as extensive as at first envisaged, parental contribution to
costs for senior secondary and tertiary education have become an established part of the
education system in Ghana.” 81

The quote above brings to mind Govenor Guggisberg’s thirteenth principle that, “Education
cannot be compulsory nor free”. Perhaps he had been right all along.The report does not mention
what attempt was made to remove subsidies in tertiary education, but it seems quite obvious that
this was not entirely successful if a new loan scheme with an element of subsidy was introduced
to appease tertiary students. It is fascinating to note that the increase in boarding feeding fees, the
increase in day schooling and the student loan scheme had all been suggested by the previous
government that the PNDC had overthrown. The PNDC however was a military government with
a strong arm. Though it may have lost student support it sought rural support in replacement.

The fourth goal of making educational planning and management more effective was done
attempting to strengthen the Ministry of Education. This part of the plan was heavily funded and
influenced by external donors. New divisions were created and some were relocated. The
Educational Management Information System was created to collate educational statistics.

7.4 Philosophy / Focus 82

Since these reforms were the implementation of the Dzobo Commission Report of 1972, the
principles, aims and objectives of the reforms will be examined as pertains to the report. In the
report, under the heading ‘Basic Principles Underlying the Proposals’ the first three principles
pertain to the preparation for education, length of education and age of commencing education.
The fourth, fifth and sixth principles, which are of much interest, are:

81
White, Howard. Books, Buildings, and Learning Outcomes: An Impact Evaluation of World Bank Support to Basic
Education in Ghana. Herndon, VA, USA: World Bank Publications, 2004. p 9.
82
This section draw its source chiefly from The Dzobo Commission Report : The New Structure and Content of
Education for Ghana, 1974

81
 iv. practical programs which lead to the acquisition of skills should be an essential part
of all formal education;
v. throughout the entire pre-university course, emphasis should be laid on :
a. the development of practical activities and the acquisition of manual skills
b. the development of the qualities of leadership, self–reliance and creativity through
the promotion of physical education, sports and games, cultural and youth
programs;
c. the study of indigenous language, science and mathematics;
vi. teacher education should be relevant, and geared towards the realization of the stated
principles and objectives of the new reforms.

These three principles are of interest for two main reasons. Firstly, principles four and five
heavily contribute to the quality and orientation of the labor force. Secondly, the attempts to
implement these three principles are frequently discussed in the rest of the chapter.
To clarify the fourth principle, the specific skills to be acquired are stated as being Inquiry skills
and Creative skills. Inquiry skills include the ability to
i. observe;
ii. collect information;
iii. analyze information;
iv. hypothesize;
v. develop working principles;
vi. test and evaluate;
vii. and apply principles to new situations.

Creative skills include the development of:

i. Manipulative skills: use of tools etc.
ii. Body movement: including poise, balance, games, dancing.
iii. Aesthetic skills: drama, art, music, home economics, etc.
These two categories of skills were meant to be developed at the primary level after which the
secondary level education would reinforce them. Apart from the above mentioned skills

82
secondary school level education was to equip students with occupational skills which would
enable them enter gainful employment.

The fifth principle mentions the emphasis for the entire pre-university course. The three
emphases are in some ways covered by the proposed content of the course. But to what extent are
these skills and qualities actually inculcated in students? This will be discussed later.

The development of manual skills would understandably be through learning subjects such as
agricultural science, home science, pre-nursing; wood work, masonry, metal work, technical
drawing, pottery, etc. mentioned in sections 18, 17 and 19 of the report .
However there is a question of how well these subjects were actually taught. In many cases the
lack of infrastructure and materials made it very difficult for these subjects to be taught
practically. The final examination comprised of written papers for each subject making it almost
impossible to test the extent to which students could actually exhibit these skills.

Qualities such as leadership, self-reliance and creativity are good qualities for a future work force
but, it is very difficult to inculcate these without well structured programs and; teachers and
school heads who have the right conditioning towards these concepts. The report makes mention
of cultural and youth programs including community work which could in some ways help to
inculcate this but there is no detailed program mentioned. Physical education, sports and games
were introduced into the curriculum but they were not taken as seriously as other subjects and
there was also the problem of having necessary logistics.

The sixth principle is important because it focuses on teacher education. The training given to the
teachers is definitely an influential factor in the success of a new reform. This will also be
touched on further on in this chapter.

7.5 Outcomes
As the reforms were being planned there were many reservations from educationists, parents and
the general public. The outcome of the current system will be review against the fears that had
been expressed before its implementation. The issues raised by one Dr. Sawyerr during an

83
assembly of Ghana National Association of Teachers will be used as a tool of assessment. Dr.
Saywerr was the Vice–Chancellor of the University of Ghana in 1987, and in his address to
delegates on January 1987 he raised important issues concerning the outcome of the
implementation of the new educational reform. In this section each of the concerns he raised will
be examined in the light of current conditions (nearly 20 years later) to see whether they were
legitimate concerns. The outline of Dr. Sawyerr’s concerns was taken from Education Society
and Development in Ghana by Moses K. Antwi.

7.5.1 Dr. Sawyerr’s issues

The first issue raised by Dr. Sawyerr was the erroneous assertion that students could be made
predisposed to agricultural and technical work. He argued that the appropriate developments
would have to be made in the national economy; there had to be a programme of political
education and also adequate incentives for this to be possible. He suggested that there should be
specific manpower targets linked with education as was in the Seven- Year Development plan
instituted by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

On hindsight after nineteen years of the JSS/ SSS system implementation it is interesting to
consider Dr. Sawyers concerns. With time it has become obvious that the students who have been
through the reformed system are not better predisposed to agricultural or technical work as was
initially hoped. Instead, there is an increase in unemployment rates and the number of JSS and
SSS drop outs and graduates found on the streets engaged in hawking and petty trading are
extremely high. The training given has not proven to be adequately sufficient to make the
graduates able to set up businesses to sustain themselves.

“Prof Anamuah-Mensah : Out of the average number of 200,000 JSS students who [graduated]
every year since 1990, only about 72,000 gained admission into senior secondary schools while
about 10,000 got into technical and vocational institutes.
This, he said, leaves a total number of 118,000 JSS leavers on the streets every year.” 83

83
Chartey Naomi, Educational Reforms Throws 1,792,000 Graduates on Streets, Ghana Daily Graphic, 7/21/2005

84
It is possible that the new system does create or exacerbate a mismatch in its fulfilment of
manpower requirements. Some have argued that JSS students are far less mature in attitude and
thinking because they still remain on the same compound with primary school students.

The next problem Dr. Sawyerr foresaw with the implementation of the new system was the
possibility that the 5% increase in enrolments would worsen the then current situation of lopsided
ratio of humanity to science graduates. Dr. Sawyerr’s fears were justified; the table below shows
the increasing number of humanities students as against science students between 1996 and 2001.
Table 7.2: Ratio of Science/Technology students against ration of Arts/Humanities students
in Universities and Polytechnics 84
Year Universities Polytechnics
Science/ Arts/ Ratio Science/ Arts/ Ratio
Technology Humanities Technology Humanities
1996/1997 9853 13272 43:57 4057 3363 55:45
1997/1998 11048 15636 41:59 5122 4820 52:48
1998/1999 12288 19213 39:61 6382 6581 49:51
1999/2000 16045 20167 44:56 7874 9082 46:54
2000/2001 14809 25864 36:64 8161 10298 44:56

According to the Ministry of Education the acceptable ratio between Science/ Technology and
Arts/ Humanities is 60:40 however the ratios presented for both the polytechnics and universities
increasingly deviate from this. As the number of students in the tertiary institutions increase the
greater the percentage of Arts/ Humanities students there are.

Currently the public universities have their facilities over stretched. Even though out of about
72,000 SSS students graduating each year, since 1992/93 academic year, only about 25,000
gained access to universities, polytechnics, teacher training colleges and other forms of training,
leaving over 65%. 85

84
Report of the President’s Committee on Review of Education Reforms in Ghana, Meeting the Challenges of
Education in the Twenty First Century, p. 128
85
Chartey Naomi, Educational Reforms Throws 1,792,000 Graduates on Streets, Ghana Daily Graphic, 7/21/2005

85
According to a policy research working paper, the unemployed labour force is on average more
highly educated than it was a decade ago. 86 It may be true that those who are unemployed today
are on average of higher educational qualification than those who were unemployed a decade
ago. However, it is possible that the current level of education has dropped to the extent that a
JSS graduate today is not as knowledgeable as a middle school leaver was a decade ago. So, even
though the unemployed may have higher qualification today it does not mean they have better
skill or more knowledge.

Because resources are so stretched the quality of education is definitely being compromised at all
levels. At the university level, it is possible to find students sitting on the floor or standing outside
because lecture theatres are too small for the large number of students. The residential apartments
made to take one or two students per room now take as many as 4 students per room. In the
universities the primary mode of assessing a student’s performance is by the final exam. Class
assignments are rarely handed in, marked and used for assessment purposes mainly because there
are too many students and it is almost impossible to grade such large volumes of scripts. For this
reason students only study to pass exams and lecturers only teach for exams. Lecturers focus on
topics that will be necessary to pass the exam and students cram as much as possible in the days
running up to exams. This study technique is popularly known as “Chew, pour, pass and forget”.
It is doubtful that students are being given very comprehensive education given the environment
described above.

Thirdly, Dr. Swayerr raised the issue of whether there was a system in place for training new
teachers on a long term basis for the new reforms. The success of the new reform, he said, would
depend heavily on the presence of adequately trained and motivated teachers or else the new
system would relapse into another version of the old system.

Dr. Sawyerr was again justified in his concerns especially, with teaching staff at the JSS level.
According to the report written by Albert K. Akyeampong for the World Bank, the training of
teachers had been rushed and materials were not sufficiently produced therefore, teachers were
not prepared to give the teaching and learning of vocational subjects a good beginning.

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The report goes on to point out that initially finding teachers for all the vocational and technical
subjects was very difficult because there were so few teacher training colleges equipped to teach
these subjects. It is further noted that itinerant teachers and local craftsmen were to be employed
to fill in the shortfall in qualified teachers. The suggested use of local artisans (who would most
likely be uneducated) as teachers contributed to making the new system less attractive because
parents felt their wards were being trained to become local artisans, not to mention the fact that
the local artisans lacked the necessary pedagogic skills to impart knowledge necessary to pass
written exams. The use of local artisans also caused problems in terms of remuneration.
Fortunately, this policy was changed by the Ministry of Education. But the chaos described above
shows the lack of preparedness associated with personnel for the new system.

These problems prove Dr. Sawyerr’s point that the new system would relapse into another
version of the old system. Perhaps in this case, it is a worse version of the old system because
students are being taught practical subjects theoretically. It is of little value to teach students
brickwork and woodwork without having gone to the workshop. It is impossible for one to expect
that students from this system will be self employed, using the skills they have acquired (if any).
Time is taken away from learning other subjects such as English and Math and invested into
theoretically taught practical subjects. This later created problems for some of the students who
wanted to continue at the university level. The universities were unwilling to take on students
from the new system because they did not have the right foundation for studies at the university.
To further discredit the system, many of the teachers were inadequately trained (in two weeks) or
were unqualified (artisans).

In addition to the lack of teachers was the inaccessibility to workshops for practical lessons.
Initially it had been planned that schools would use available workshops in their area as a single
multi-purpose workshop was being built for each school. Unfortunately not all JSSs had
workshops in the locality that could be used for practical lessons. Soon the Ministry of Education
reversed the directive to use workshops arguing “to use workshops which are far from the schools

87
… would use up too much instructional time and may encourage truancy and absenteeism.” 87 The
Ministry of Education went on to say that the curriculum for basic technical and vocational skills
had been designed in such a way that sophisticated facilities and equipment were not necessary.
This statement makes one wonder how practical the curriculum is if no practical work is
necessary. As at the year 2000, estimates showed that less than one quarter of junior secondary
schools had workshop facilities and the capacity to deliver the vocational options in the
curriculum.

The Secondary School curriculum was also expanded to give more choice to students
unfortunately this has also been fraught with some problems. There was an increase in the regular
curriculum which increased workload for both teachers and students. In addition to this, was the
problem of insufficient equipment and tools, that made it unrealistic to expect that schools would
devote time to more practical activities and subjects. At the outset, the SSS program was designed
such that agriculture, vocational and technical subjects would not only prepare students for the
world of work but also for further education but the universities considered some of the SSS
students not sufficiently prepared for university study.

The universities were unwilling to admit SSS agriculture graduates because they considered
elective science as more appropriate foundation for agriculture programs at the university than the
specialized Agriculture courses taught at the SSS. This rift in what the universities expectations
were and what the SSS system offered also demonstrates the loop hole in planning and the
unwillingness of authorities to recognize the new system. The lack of adequate bridges to link the
SSS system to the tertiary system points to poor planning. The stubborn refusal to admit students
instead of offering alternative solutions on how to integrate already ‘stranded’ students shows the
unwillingness of authorities to accept the reforms. After a while an additional year was added to
the university system to accommodate students from the new system and bring them to speed
with the requirements of the university.

87
Albert K. Akyeampong , Vocationalization of Secondary Education in Ghana, prepared for Regional Vocational
Skills Development Review Human Development Africa Region of the World Bank, pg 11

88
It is a pity that apart from the fact that the JSS and SSS systems are not practical enough these
systems (at least initially) did not seem to prepare students for continued education in the tertiary
institutions.

Fourthly, with the cost recovery policy, Dr. Sawyerr was concerned that parents would be
discouraged from taking their wards to school because of the almost 100% increase in
contribution required of them to send their wards to school at the secondary and university levels.
He claimed that this policy was only an extension of the privatisation process. The cost recovery
was not fully carried out at the University level as stated earlier on in this chapter. At the
secondary level, however there has been some cost recovery. Unfortunately, there are signs that
the increased financial burden on parents negatively affects the number of children who enrol in
school.

The fifth issue that was raised by Dr. Sawyerr was that the reform was to be instituted before the
necessary research had been completed. It looked as though the government was trying to meet
deadlines of the World Bank or trying to forestall the abandonment of the programme. World
Bank support for the reform was US$4.5 million. 88 Mr. Sawyerr suggested that the government
of the day explain the rush in implementation.

The rush in implementation is obvious in the many problems that arose due to lack of proper
planning and research. Examples are the lack of adequate teachers, the lack of logistics for
practical lessons, the lack of planning concerning the absorption into the secondary and tertiary
institutions to mention a few.

The reason for the rush is still quite unclear. Even though some point accusing fingers at the
World Bank and other donors for putting pressure on the government to implement the new
reforms, the world bank reports states that the World bank merely helped bring back to life the
reforms accepted by the government in 1973, simplified the curriculum, ensured that books
would be available, that schools would not be closed down for lack of food. The World Bank
claims that there was a strong domestic ownership of the reforms and that President in particular

88
Antwi Moses S., Education, Society and Development in Ghana. pg 50

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affirmed the commitment to the reforms. The explanation the World Bank gives for the
government’s embrace of such a politically unpopular reform is that, the PNDC wanted to build
political support from the rural areas where people were not receiving education. So these
reforms though unpopular with the middle class elite, would extend education to the rural areas
and build a broader support base there.

In 1992 The Free Compulsory Universal Education Policy (FCUBE) was made a constitutional
requirement. The clause in Article 38(2) of the constitution of 1992 constitution the Fourth
Republic states that:

“The Government shall, within two years after parliament first meets after the coming into force
of this constitution, draw up a programme for implementation within the following ten years, for
the provision of Free Compulsory and universal Basic Education.”

The FCUBE was to address the problems and improve the quality of the educational reforms of
1987. The aim of the program was to 89 :
(a) Improve the teaching process and learning outcomes;
(b) Strengthen management of the basic education system through better planning,
monitoring and evaluation by MOE/GES at central, regional and district levels, and by
promoting active involvement of communities in the management of schools;
(c) Improve access to basic education, especially of girls, the poor and other disadvantaged
segments of the population; and
(d) Ensure financial sustainability of the Government program for basic education over the
longer term.
The ‘free’ in FCUBE does not mean entirely free education. It only means that teaching is
provided free of charge by the government. Since teaching is not the only cost involved in
education schools are permitted to charge other fees up to a ceiling amount approved by the local
District Assemblies. Even though this seems like a reasonable arrangement and the fees approved
by the local District Assemblies are usually quite modest it is still a problem for the less
endowed.

89
White, Howard. Books, Buildings, and Learning Outcomes: An Impact Evaluation of World Bank pg 12

90
7.6 Analysis of Educational System

Since Primary school is not a completion point and there is no break from Primary to the JSS,
Primary and JSS will be analysed together under the heading ‘Primary and JSS Levels’. The
secondary level will be from SSS 1-3 and the tertiary level will comprise all other institutions
above the SSS level.

7.6.1 At the primary and JSS levels

7.6.1.1 What is the quality of Education at the primary and JSS levels?
Initially there was an overload of subjects at the primary level with students studying about 9
subjects. This was later reduced to 7. Pupils were exposed to more practical subjects;
unfortunately this was initially done at the expense of important skills such as reading writing and
numeracy. Later on the school year was extended from 36 to 40 weeks and the school day
extended officially from 4 to 5 hours. In actual fact many schools have much longer school days
often under the pretext of having extra classes for the students. This is most prevalent in the
private schools.

Considering the discussion on Dr. Sawyerr’s concerns and what actually pertains in reality the
quality of education in the new reform is not exceptionally good and in many cases (especially in
rural areas) can be described as far below standard. To answer the question “Did it equip people
to be dynamic and open to changes in society?” it can be said that the reform was intended to
accomplish this, looking at the curriculum, but it could not be effectively implemented. Instead
what was produced was practical programme taught and examined theoretically, rendering it
quite ineffective.

Because of the high unemployment rate of JSS graduates one cannot conclude that their training
makes it possible or easier for them to be engaged in society even if they wanted to. The products
of the JSS would fall under the category of under-educated citizens because even though they
may want to participate in society, their training does not sufficiently equip them to do so.

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The dynamism of the system is questionable especially because the JSS graduates cannot seem to
find their place in the workforce, one would expect that a dynamic workforce would after
sometime be able to access the situation and strategically find a place. Even though the JSS
system could be described as dynamic because students are being taught to become multi skilled,
there is the question of what kind of methods and tools are being used for teaching. For the
schools that were fortunate to have had workshops what techniques and tools were available to
students? Considering the fact that the government was unable to fully finance the construction of
workshops or monitor the quality of existing workshops it is doubtful that students were being
exposed to the most modern techniques if they are relying on the charity of local workshops.

Now that the ‘practical’ subjects are being taught theoretically it is all the more doubtful that
students would be more dynamically inclined because even if they are exposed to modern trends
and techniques they would not have experienced them, making them none the more receptive to
them. They will most likely comply with whatever is available to them practically in the world of
work, which may not necessarily be the most progressive methods.

Once the students have been through the system there is the intrinsic benefit that comes with
being educated and since the new reform promotes practical skills that one can use it has an even
higher value. At the initial stages of the reforms when the middle schools were being phased out,
the JSS was of little social value. The ‘regular’ middle school and secondary school students were
preferred. To escape having their children go through the new system parents had their children
who were in primary school ( as low at primary 4) take the common entrance exams to join the
last cohorts of the dying system. Until the old system was completely phased out employers and
universities alike preferred to take on graduates from the old system. The economic value leaves
much to be desired considering that the graduates found it extremely difficult to enter the work
force and contribute to the economic well being of the country.

7.6.1.2 What are the expectations of Education at the Primary level?

Even though there was a lot of opposition against the new reforms it does not change what
citizens generally want from education. In the case of Ghana, education should enable one to read
and write and also to provide one with a relatively good job that would improve ones financial

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standing. Some have noted that the parents (especially in rural areas) are more willing to keep
their wards in school if they see the direct benefit of the education. Children having been to
school are expected to be able to read and write for illiterate parents and if this cannot be done,
school is seen as a waste of resources and the child is taken out of school. It is unfortunate to note
that the school drop out rates are still quite high and the ability to read, write and work sums is
still not possessed by many primary school graduates in rural areas. For those who move on to the
JSS level it is unfortunate but in the rural areas many JSS graduates still find it difficult to
communicate in English and do arithmetic. It is true that some schools teach in the local language
and using English language as a measure may seem unfair but, past the JSS level students are
taught solely in English so students must be equipped with English language upon completion of
JSS to make it possible to pass the SSS entrance exam and to pursue education further.

As has already been mentioned those who do not further their education after the JSS level often
fall through the cracks and have difficulty in finding gainful employment.
“At the moment, in the public sector there are 12,225 Primary Schools and 6,418 Junior
Secondary Schools with the total enrolment figures of 2,216,792 and 767,303 respectively. In the
private education sector, the number of pupils in private basic schools is 550,423.” 90

The ‘hidden’ expectation of Government at the primary level seemed to be an increase in political
support through increased accessibility to education. There has been an increase in primary
enrolments. However looking beyond this to the retention rate and standard of education given
the total outcome is not likely to be very positive.

Considering the four official goals of the reform (as stated above in the section ‘Development of
Education’, the governments has been able to fulfil its first goal of changing the structure of the
system from 6, 4, 7 to 6, 3,3, thus shortening the pre-university education from 17 to 12 years.
Middle schools have been replaced by JSSs.

The second goal of improving the teaching and learning process by increasing school hours and
quality of teachers does not seem entirely fulfilled by the attempt to phase out untrained teachers.

90
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Firstly, the attempt to phase out untrained teachers does not seem to have been successful. It is
worth noting that it is in the private school sector, where there are the most untrained teachers,
that the JSS students perform better, pass and enter the SSS. It does bring in to question the
reasoning that an increase in government trained teachers necessarily increases the quality of
education.

Secondly, school hours have been increased but many schools still use more time to cover the
syllabus by arranging extra classes after class hours and during the vacation. These extra classes
are often held at an extra expense to the parents. So even though the number of pre – university
years may have been shortened and the number of class hours increased there is still inadequate
time to cover the syllabus which translates into extra cost for parents.

Finally, the quality of teachers in the initial stages at least, left much to be desired. As quoted
below:

“A lot of the training had been rushed, often lasting not more than two weeks at a time, and materials
were not sufficiently produced. For example, because of the shortfall in vocational and technical
teachers for JSS at the early stages, some mathematics teachers were encouraged to enroll for 2-
weeks orientation courses to teach pre-vocational and pre-technical skills. Therefore these were not
the best-prepared teachers to give the teaching and learning of vocational subjects a good
beginning.” 91

The governments’ third goal of increasing cost recovery seems to have been successful to some
degree at the JSS level because most JSSs are day schools and there is now a fund for education,
Ghana Educational Trust Fund (GET Fund). However there has been an increase in cost to
parents which some argue could be a reason for some low enrolment rates.

Unfortunately the reform does not seem to have produced the expected outcome of the fourth and
perhaps most important goal: To make educational planning and management more effective. The
obvious chaos and problems due to lack of planning make it clear that whatever systems may
91
Albert K. Akyeampong , Vocationalization of Secondary Education in Ghana, prepared for Regional Vocational
Skills Development Review Human Development Africa Region of the World Bank, pg 10

94
have been put in place are not functioning effectively. The role of various donors also aggravates
the situation making it difficult to manage and coordinate the educational system.

The donor organisations are the third group that had vested interest in the reforms and thus had
some expectations. The three main donors involved in this reform include The World Bank,
USAID of The United States of America, DFID of The United Kingdom. Other donors were,
JICA of Japan and KFw and GTZ of Germany. Donor coordination was rather poor leading to
three main donors with similar projects but with different management systems causing increased
transaction costs for government. According to the World Bank report, the main role as a donor
was to assist the government in carrying out its educational reform. The other donors were mainly
involved in funding the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) program which
was instituted in 1992 to improve upon the 1987 reform by addressing the shortcomings
identified in the implementation process. The FCUBE program has also be fraught with problems
of donor coordination for two main reasons. Firstly, government did not have a detailed outline of
its strategy and has made changes and additions with time. Secondly, donors usually have their
own objectives, management systems and best practises. In addition to this donors are unwilling
to have their programs mainstreamed even if these programs do not fully fit into the national
strategy. Donors tend to sponsor different programs in different districts with very little
coordination. Even though there are the main goals of the FCUBE program, it has become very
difficult to achieve these goals with the development partners because of their individual
developmental goals. Because of this it is extremely difficult to asses the fulfilment of the
expectations of donor agencies. On the whole the work of donor organisations has produced a
mixed outcome.

7.6.1.3 Has the educational system at the JSS level positively contributed to economic growth of
Ghana?
The system has been so poorly planned and carried out that resources being put into the system
have not produced the best possible results. In other words the new reforms are a relatively poor
economic investment. The reforms have definitely made education more accessible but the
quality of the education being given is questionable. One the whole this educational reform is of
some intrinsic value. However, its economic value may be quite low especially because it

95
produces a large number of unemployed JSS graduates who either cannot find work or cannot
continue schooling because of the limited number of Senior Secondary Schools. A great deal of
human resources is going to waste due to poor training and limited access to continued training.

7.6.2 At the Senior Secondary School Level

7.6.2.3 What is the quality of Education?

At the senior secondary level, subjects are often less ‘practical’ and more specific. Students are
required to do a number of core subjects and electives. The elective subjects determine ones
specialization. Specializations such as Agriculture, Visual Arts, Home Science and (to some
degree) Science are practical courses that require that students do practical work on which they
are examined. Though some senior secondary students branch off into the world of work, most of
them aspire to enter into tertiary institutions.
According to a news paper article, out of 72,000 SSS students only about 25,000 gain access to
universities, polytechnics, teacher training colleges and other forms of training, leaving about
47,000 unaccounted for. 92 Once again students seem to have been under-educated even though
this may be to a lower degree than JSS students. SSS graduates find it extremely difficult to find
jobs if they do not continue their education. Their education does not equip them to easily enter
the necessary sectors of the economy.

In terms of dynamism, at the SSS level even though subjects are less practical, there are some
practical subjects. There has been some effort to upgrade science equipment with the introduction
of well resourced Science Resource Centres, but this it once again limited to a few schools.
Clusters of secondary schools share one resource centre.

“The number of public senior secondary schools stands at 474 with a total enrolment of 232,095.
To help lay a solid foundation for science education, 110 Science Resource Centres have been
established through out the country to enable secondary schools without well equipped science
laboratory to have access to science practicals.” 93

92
Chartey Naomi, Educational Reforms Throws 1,792,000 Graduates on Streets, Ghana Daily Graphic, 7/21/2005
93
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96
For vocational and technical training much less has been done.

“Technical and vocational education has been given a boost with the ongoing establishment of
20 Technical/Vocational Resource Centres throughout the country (2 in each region).” 94

As with JSS students, the education given does not seem to foster enough dynamism to encourage
SSS students to enter the economy easily. At all levels of education the general dynamism and
quality of the teaching staff leave much to be desired in especially in the public sector. The
quality of teachers has been a source of concern in recent time.

What is the value of education? JSS students are sifted at the SSS level because so few of them
gain admission. Most students who make it to the SSS level are fairly well educated. To have the
opportunity of going through the SSS system definitely has an intrinsically beneficial experience.
The specialization (though limiting in some respects) gives students a somewhat greater insight
into subjects of their interest, thus devoting time and skills to more meaningful study as compared
to the JSS broad range of subjects.

In the initial stages when the old educational system was being run concurrently many road
blocks were put in the way of graduates who wanted to enter the world of work or continue their
education. The SSS system was of low social value. The economic returns at the individual level
to SSS education are at least higher that that of the JSS but is still discouraging.

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 8
University Education

Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form

of inert facts.
- Henry Brooks Adams
(1838–1918) US author, historian, grandson of John Quincy Adams

Tertiary education in Ghana is made up of universities, polytechnics, specialized institutions,

open universities and any other tertiary institutions that lead to the award of a diploma or degree
however, in this paper focuses more on university education as tertiary education. This in no way
belittles the other institutions. On the contrary the loop-holes in university education give reason
for the other institutions to be strengthened and better developed. University education is singled
out because of the limits of this paper and also because it is the most developed tertiary institution
thus far.

8.1 History and Development of Universities in Ghana

Gordon Guggisberg’s third principle was to provide a university. According to a report by
Ormsby-Gore in 1926, the full effect of providing a university would not be possible unless
students had been sufficiently given secondary education (specifically in Achimota School) and
there was a widespread demand for university education. 95 In the meantime Achimota School
was to provide the most advanced classes available and students wishing to pursue studies further
were sent to England. Achimota provided education up to the level of university second year.

By 1946, the conditions that Ormsby-Gore had given were being fulfilled. Students had been
trained in secondary schools and there was an increasing demand by Ghanaians for a university to
be built. Achimota had existed for 20 years and had been offering post secondary courses for 15
years. Proposals were made to have one single central University College in Nigeria and have the
95
Hymer S., Kay G.B., The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana – A Collection of Documents,p.288

98
Achimota and Fourah Bay colleges as territorial colleges. These recommendations were rejected
by the Gold Coast. There was a continued request for a university in the Gold Coast. Ghanaians
expected Achimota either to become the University College of West Africa or of the Gold Coast
but not relegated to a territorial college. The Report of the Committee on Higher Education, 1946,
noted these sentiments and proposed an outline of how and where the University of The Gold
Coast would be established. The Achimota Council was to have oversight of the courses for the
interim period. The principal of Achimota School was also to be administratively responsible for
the new institution. It was proposed that the University of Ibadan and the University of London
would collaborate in providing courses that were unavailable in the Gold Coast. A stretch of land
2.5 miles from Achimota was proposed to be the site of the new University College.

The suggestion by the British to have one university for the territory shows perspective they had
of their colonies as one entity or project but not as individual counties. The British in their
dealings with their colonies sought to reap great financial gain with the least development
possible. And even if there was to be development it was to be done it was to be done for the
good of all the colonies and not necessarily for each of the colonies. Meaning projects that would
enhance the overall value of the colonies would be of greater interest than projects that would
only benefit a single colony. After independence colonies became independent countries that had
been unequally developed. It not uncommon to find European and North American who still have
this mindset that Africa is one country and not a continent of many countries.

The University of the Gold Coast was established in 1948 with 90 students. 96 It was renamed the
University College of Ghana in 1957. The Kumasi College of Technology, now known as the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), was established in 1952. In
1959 the Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, personally took over responsibility of the
University College of Ghana and the Kumasi College of Technology. Financial support directly
from the Prime Ministers Office between 1959 and 1961 amounted to £G 1,715,000. 97 In 1960
the institute of African Studies was established in the University College of Ghana to teach the
appreciation of Africa in the modern world. In 1961 the University College of Ghana ceased to be

96
McWilliam H.O.A., Kwabena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana-An Outline,p.78
97
Ministry of Education, Education Report for the Years 1958-1960,p. 50

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supervised by the University of London. In 1962 the University College of Cape Coast was
established, with Education as its area of specialization. The University of Ghana had a
supervisory role until 1972.

The University College of Education of Winneba was established in 1992 out of already existing
specialist colleges. Its goal is to produce professional teachers for basic secondary and teacher
training colleges. It operates a multi-campus system. The Kumasi campus specialises in technical
and business education, the Ashanti-Mampong campus specialises in agricultural education and
the Winneba campus has three sites that specialise in areas such as science, social studies, music,
art, home economics, basic education, physical education, special education, mathematics,
English, French, and Ghanaian Language. It was granted a full university status in October 2002.

The University of Development Studies (UDS) in the Northern Region of Ghana was established
in 1992 and was immediately accorded a university status and therefore is not affiliated with any
university. It has the responsibility of producing action-oriented programmes in priority areas of
development to address deprivations and environmental problems, which characterise Northern
Ghana and rural areas of the country. It is also quite unique because it does not have a sprawling
campus as is typical of the first three universities, but instead has four faculties located in
different places in the Northern region. Its four faculties are School of Medicine and Health
Sciences, Integrated Development Studies, Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

8.1.1 The role of Private Universities

The influx of Senior Secondary School (SSS) students unable to enter university has created an
opportunity for private universities to be introduced. The first private universities were permitted
to operate from 1998. At present there are about 8 private universities namely Ashesi University,
Catholic University, Central University College, Islamic University, Methodist University
College, Reagent University College and Valley View University. The private universities are
forced to offer a higher quality of education than the public universities due to regulations put in
place by an accreditation board. Apart from that, since students are fee-paying they have more of
a right to demand better quality. Public universities often have their school calendar interrupted
with strikes either by students or staff. In private universities there are no strikes, this ensures

100
continuous studies. Private universities have challenges in introducing new syllabi and new
teaching methods because they employ lecturers from the existing universities who are engrossed
with methods and practises in public universities and may not be very open to change. On the
whole private universities have come to create competition for public universities, challenging
them to increase their quality and conditions of service for teaching staff. Apart from this, the
introduction of fee paying private universities emboldened the public universities to request for
an increase in students’ financial contribution to education.

8.1.3 Problems of the 1950s

In 1957, Educational Problems and Philosophy, written by Mr. Boss Adjei Osekre, outlined four
main problems with the universities of the day. Firstly, the educational system was not in sync
with the demands and aspirations of the country. Secondly, libraries were not amply stocked with
books. Thirdly, there was a lack of research facilities and finally, the subjects taught did not
provide skills for jobs.

In relation to the first problem Mr. Osekre suggests that the education given was too repetitious
and examination standards too high. Students spent too much time simply preparing for exams
instead of acquiring useful skills. Secondly, since the library was not amply stocked with books
students were forced to order books from overseas but a new library was being built and it was
hoped to solve the problem.

The third problem of research facilities is put simply like this:

‘The aim of higher education in Ghana is not to stimulate the student to delve into unknown
territories in his field but, it seems, it is meant to exercise his retentive memory.’ 98
This was of concern because it meant that students only memorized the facts they were given and
made no new findings of their own. Merely memorizing facts without adding to the knowledge or
making it of practical benefit is of little value. As put below:

‘Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form

of inert facts.’ 99

98
Osekre Boss Adjei , Educational Problems and Philosophy of Ghana, p.10

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Some reasons given for the problem were that students were too examination conscious, no
provision was made for post-graduate work, many students had been granted scholarships to
study abroad, many of the courses lacking these facilities were mainly at the introductory level
and there was the lack of industry in the country. Finally, Mr. Osekre points out that even though
that many of the subjects taught were good in themselves, the were not relevant for finding work.

8.1.4 Problems of the 1970s

In the 1970s two main problems were described in The Development of Education in Ghana-An
Outline. Firstly there were fears that too many graduates were being produced and that the
graduates being produced did not seem to fit the manpower requirements of the nation. Finally,
the cost of producing graduates was becoming a worrisome issue and there was the effort to
devise a means to reduce funding necessary to sustain the universities.

On the first point, the writers, McWilliam and Kwabena-Poh, suggest that the possibility of an
excess supply of graduates had not yet become a problem and this was indicated by the continued
presence of expatriates in the country who were needed to fill the gap between graduates needed
and graduates available. They did however caution that there should be an effort to ensure that the
courses being pursued both in the universities at home and abroad are of benefit to the individuals
and the nation. The second problem mentioned however, was a glaring reality. Various
committees had made recommendations over the years as to how the cost should be reduced. The
1966-1967 report suggested various types of university awards. Acting on this, scholarships and
bursaries were given on the criteria of three academic performance levels with those not
qualifying for the first two levels being required to pay fees in full. Three years later when this
edict was instituted an interest free loan was made available for all students to be paid over four
years after completion of studies. The new regulations were to help recover cost, and redistribute
the students according to manpower requirements. Within six months of its introduction, this was
abolished by the National Liberation Council (NLC), which took over the country in a military
overthrow. By the end of a turbulent political period of two civilian governments and four

99
Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918) US author, historian, son of Charles Francis Adams, grandson of John Quincy
Adams

102
military coup d'états a national loan scheme had been instituted. As outlined in the chapter
‘Cocktail Era 1966 to 1981’, each of the governments attempted to solve the three problems
mentioned above using different techniques but none having enough time to achieve any lasting
feat. The university system has otherwise stayed quite consistent in terms of structure and content
of its curriculum. So problems that existed are still persistent.

8.1.5 Problems of the 1950s and 1970s seen today

Now after looking at the problems of the 1950s and 1970s we will see if these problems exist
today. The problem common to the 1950s and 1970s was the need to make the education suit the
manpower needs of the country. Closely related to this point is Mr. Osekre’s fourth point that
students are not trained with skills for work. In 1987, during the Rawlings regime, Dr. Sawyerr
also echoed concerns of the lopsided nature of university studies with more students studying
Humanities as opposed to Sciences. These concerns are all related. Once the universities focus on
subjects that do not provide knowledge on how to harness available economic resources (as was
Dr. Sawyerr’s concern), graduates will be unable to find work. There is a limit to which one can
promote employment and industry that has no link with the country’s resources and comparative
advantage. Ghana’s main resources are agricultural products and minerals and yet the bulk of
education is focused on social sciences and with the introduction of private universities, business
administration in particular.

The public sector is not very dynamic in its administrative set up and systems and most graduates
from public universities aim at finding jobs in the public sector. This trend is changing because of
the wage differential between public and private firms. In the event of unemployment, most
university graduates seem unable to (or unwilling to) start private business ventures. Many
students come out ill-equipped to work in business setups that require creativity and initiative.
However, in the wake of private universities, students are becoming more dynamic in thinking
and there is more competition for jobs. However the private universities produce less than 5 % of
the skilled labour force. Apart from this, most private universities focus on non-science subjects
making Dr. Sawyerr’s fears of a labour force skewed towards humanities more of a reality.

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Public universities on the whole have over the years produced the bulk of Ghana’s highly
educated workforce. As earlier pointed out, the largest and most important sector of the Ghanaian
economy is the agricultural sector and yet it attracts the least skilled labour force. The universities
and other tertiary institutions should be producing graduates who are able to participate in
society. As it stands the graduates being churned out are unwilling (or unable) to enter the most
important sectors of the country causing a mismatch. The agricultural sector is not seen as the
most attractive sector because returns are not as quick as other sectors and as stated before white
collar jobs still have more prestige.

The observation made in the 1950s that university education only encouraged memorization and
not discovery is still very real today. It is sad to note that most students of public universities are
not very dynamic and inclined towards changing times. It is not uncommon to find students from
public tertiary institutions with limited computer knowledge. Students are forced to learn these
skills privately to ensure that they are abreast with human resource requirements.

In the 1950s libraries were not amply stocked with books and there was a lack of research
facilities. Today the main public universities boast of large libraries that have been poorly kept.
Books are poorly handled and the libraries themselves poorly maintained. The catalogue systems
are still not computerized and pages in books, relevant for coursework, have been torn out. The
libraries are a semblance to archives and are not known to have the latest literature available. The
sprawling nature of the universities makes it almost impossible to concentrate on the necessary
issues. With the universities departments divided into separate semi-autonomous bodies there is
the likelihood that there would be a better focus on the needs of each department including the
research needs, but for now the pride of the public universities will not allow them to consider
this. The pride of being a grand edifice still surpasses the drive to be most efficient and effective.

Apart from the inadequate libraries and research facilities the academic and physical facilities
have not been adequately upgraded as the yearly student intake increases. Overcrowded lecture
halls are more common than they should be for a conducive learning environment. In the recently
established public universities and colleges there have also been inadequate facilities. The
University College of Education of Winneba (UCEW), for example, was made up of already

104
existing institutions without any expansion causing many inadequacies in terms of lecture halls,
student and staff accommodation and academic facilities such as laboratories, workshops, and
libraries. As characteristic of the reforms in the Rawlings Regime planning was done in some
haste for University of Development Studies (UDS) and so that institution is also fraught with a
lack of various facilities.

By 1970 the number of graduates produced was of concern. Today, not just the number of
graduated produced is concerning but also the number that leave the country. Even though the
universities may be producing too many graduates in some areas (such as humanities) there is still
a desperate need for graduates in other sectors (especially the pure sciences). Ghana is in this
dilemma because the most essential manpower of the country is in high demand in more
developed countries as well. Though there are jobs in Ghana for professionals such as medical
personnel, the remuneration is far less attractive when compared with what is offered by
developed countries.

As a country (and especially a developing country), there are some sectors such as agriculture,
health and education that need uttermost attention. In an ideal situation the most qualified
personnel should be found in these sectors. Unfortunately, these sectors are least attractive
because of conditions of service and remuneration. In this case the country does not benefit from
these university graduates because they gain expertise that they would not use in the available
sectors of employment within the country but instead (as especially in the case of health and
educational personnel) leave the country to practise elsewhere.

The cost of training graduates is still of concern today as it was in the 1970s. The national loan
scheme is being revised and strategies are constantly being devised to reduce government
expenditure on education.

8.1.6 Problems of Today

The problems with tertiary education as outlined by the current educational reforms review were
many however, for the purposes of this paper the sections outlining the quality and relevance of
the curriculum will be the main focus. There were twelve main factors that were listed as

105
hampering the quality and relevance of tertiary education. Most of these points have been raised
earlier on. Looking at the point enumerated below it raises the question as to whether these
problems have simply been ignored or the solutions were ineffective.

1. The lack of adequate and modern academic facilities

The lack of modern lecture theatres, laboratories and workshops among other things, that the
report mentions, are as a result of the rapid and ill-planned expansions over the years. There were
warnings of this as far back as in Guggisberg’s era.
The other dimension of the problem that is fairly new is the lack of adequate Information
Communication Technology (ICT) in the educational setup. This problem shows the slow
evolution of the system and its lack of dynamism. Information is increasingly being shared on the
internet and research is limited without access to the internet.

2. Insufficient qualified staff

The report cites unattractive salaries and work conditions as the main reasons for the shortage in
staff. When Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was faced with this challenge his solution was to change the
salary structure. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s conditions of service were generally better.
The academic staffs were guaranteed accommodation at the least. Today however this is not so
and the recommendations made by the 2002 committee include the improvement in salary
structure and provision of loan schemes for accommodation. However considering the root
problem as national economy and the inability of government to fully fund education,
adjustments in salary structure and loan schemes may fail again if current economic conditions
worsen.

Another point to consider is that even though lectures bemoan the salaries and work conditions
many of them have other sources of income tied to their professions. A good number of them act
as consultants for the many donor organisations and NGOs in the country. It is not uncommon for
them to own houses and cars that are far beyond their means as fulltime lecturers from the
proceeds of these consulting projects. The unfortunate side of this is, even though they keep their
positions in the universities they do not put in their best. For some courses students simply

106
acquire the notes and handouts of previous years and they are assured of a good grade because the
lecturers have had no time to revise them.

Since the lecturers are already engaged in improving their own lot by taking on consultancy jobs
perhaps universities should consider incorporating this into the solution by making provision for
lecturers to do private consulting in such a way that it does not interfere with class work.

3. Inadequate emphasis on science and technology

This was mentioned by Dr. Sawyerr in his critique of the ‘Rawlings Reforms’. The report
ascribes the problem to the inadequate facilities in the universities and the low participation in
sciences at the pre-tertiary level.

4. Weak linkage of programmes with industry

Points four and five are dealt with separately in the review but they are linked.
The review committee pointed out that there is a gap between courses offered and needs of the
industry it also notes that the industry is not adequately involved in the development of
programmes for tertiary institutions.

5. Lack of National Manpower projections

Also, the findings of the review show that the tertiary institutions supply human resource without
consideration for demand of the industry. The bid to ‘Africanize’ the education of the Gold Coast
by Guggisberg was in line with preventing this problem. The attempts by the various
governments to make education more practical and suitable were also in line with these two
points above. The recommendations of the latest committee include periodic manpower surveys
and interactions between the tertiary institutions and the industry. These are all very laudable
recommendations but the root problem that caused the rejection of the ‘Africanization’ of the
Gold Coast education has not been factored. The perception that white collar jobs are ‘better’ still
persists today. Recommendations could also include the national sensitization of the value and
nobility of agriculture. Currently what prevails is a national farmer’s day when farmers and other
agricultural entrepreneurs are awarded. The government is also trying to endear citizens to
national agricultural produce by promoting the use of chocolate, cassava powder and other

107
products at public functions and in state institutions. The educational sector must also actively
take up this mandate because as Guggisberg said:

‘Throughout all this, our main aim must be not to denationalize them, but to graft skilfully on
their national characteristics and the best attributes of modern civilisation.’ 100

6. Lack of linkage in programmes at the pre-tertiary and tertiary levels

The weak link between pre-tertiary and tertiary levels according to the review is partially caused
by the weak academic counselling at the pre-tertiary level. The cause goes beyond this to the
rushed implementation of the JSS/SSS system and the static nature of the tertiary institutions
(especially universities). If the tertiary programmes need to be revised then it should be done with
the current pre-tertiary educational system in mind.

7. Lack of relationships between universities and the other tertiary institutions

This point though extremely important is not discussed in this paper because tertiary education
has been mostly limited to universities in the entire discourse. However the essence is that the
universities should be more open to information sharing and transfer of students from other
tertiary institutions. These institutions should be seen as partners and not ‘lower’ institutions.

8. Inadequate funding for post graduate work and research

The review suggested among other things that the funding should be sought from the Ghana
Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and through engaging in relevant research that will be funded
by the industry. There should also be a more coordinated effort on the part of the universities.

9. Quality of students
Products of the pre-tertiary institutions often have problems adjusting to the tertiary system due to
deficiencies in communication, the review notes. The current review also echoes the problems of
the 1950s that the students are far too examination conscious and less interested in acquiring

100
Kay G. B. and Hymer S., The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana – A collection of documents and
statistics 1900-1960, p. 278

108
knowledge for life. This problem should draw attention to the style of teaching, the emphasis of
lectures, the grading system as well as the perception of ‘failing’ exams.

10. High student/ teacher ratio

The high teacher student ratio has been persistent over the years. The demand for education has
constantly been greater than the facilities and personnel available. According to the most recent
review, the current student/lecturer ratios for sciences and humanities are 30:1 and 40:1
respectively as against the ideal ratios of 12:1 and 18:1. Apart from the increase of academic staff
through improved conditions of service it would help to encourage the participation of private
universities because the public universities are overcrowded and too large for effective
administration. Adequate supply of lecturers and expansion of physical facilities will only be a
temporary solution.

11. Pedagogy
Some lecturers lack the necessary teaching skills and use methods that encourage rote learning.
Recommendations given include an institution that would periodically train lecturers with the
modern instructional skills necessary.

8.2 What is the quality of Education?

After considering the above, it is evident that university education has had many problems that
have gone unsolved over the years. Some of these problems were even predicted before they
occurred. The many problems definitely affect the quality of education being received. There are
signs of under-education, over-education and mis-education at different levels and in different
aspects.

In terms of IT and up-to-date information students are woefully under-educated. There is an

inadequate amount of education in this area and this does not permit one to become a well-
rounded and engaged citizen capable of contributing to a cohesive and participatory society. In a
world of information technology and in the era of increasing foreign business investment what
worth is a business graduate with extremely limited computer knowledge? Apart from this there

109
is little encouragement given to dynamism, entrepreneurship and creativity within the university
confines.

8.3 What are the expectations from Education?

Students attending tertiary institutions usually expect that their qualifications will secure them a
place in the job market but, there are limited places in the job markets that students target. The
most spaces happen to be in science related fields (where students are least) and in ‘unattractive’
sectors of the economy such as agriculture. So in some ways education has not met the
expectations of many tertiary students.

The government hopes to train students who will fill in for the labour that has to be imported
(such as medical staff). Unfortunately, efforts to retain such highly skilled labour have been
extremely difficult.

8.4 How has the educational system at the University level contributed to economic
growth of Ghana?

As mentioned earlier in the theory chapter of this paper, there are various costs of education. Two
important cost elements mentioned were financial costs and the cost of time. The third element
could be added to evaluate university education in Ghana is the cost of being educated. As
mentioned earlier, for any worthwhile investment the returns must be enough to recover cost and
bring about a relatively good profit. The returns that will be considered in the case of universities
are financial returns (revenue), the returns of being educated and the returns on time.

The financial costs involved in running public universities in Ghana have always been large and
as has been reiterated earlier many governments have found it hard to bear. The reasons for the
high costs are the colonial design of the universities on the basis of full state funding and
maintenance. Universities were built with state-of-the-art facilities on sprawling campuses.
Everything from utilities to student’s laundry was catered for by the government. With a thriving
economy and a constant source of funding, this may be economically feasible but in the case of
Ghana this is a nightmare. Since this full university funding ideal has become the norm the

110
populace has never taken kindly to the withdrawal of government support for university
education. Unfortunately, with time, this issue has become a politicized making it difficult for
government to take practical steps that may be unpopular. Over time a few bold cost recovery
decisions have been made at some political expense but the common solution has been to let
facilities and deteriorate and have some services slowly disappear. Nonetheless, the government
is still responsible for most costs.

The average time used in educating students in university is 4 years for most programmes and 7
years for programmes such as medicine and architecture. These years in school could have been
used in some other venture that would have gained direct financial returns or could be used in
acquiring other skills that would bring greater economic returns. For many students the cost of
time spent in the university is very high because the courses done do not optimally contribute to
their future employment. What brings about this is the prestige attached to attending university. It
is not uncommon to find students studying zoology or archaeology just for the sake of having the
degree and hoping to end up with a career in business administration. Often students would
forfeit the opportunity of attending other institutions to acquire skills that would eventually be
more beneficial. The lopsided nature of science/technology and arts/humanities students
mentioned in the previous chapter makes the cost of time for university education even higher
because Ghana is in dire need of graduates with science/technology orientation but the time most
students graduate with arts/humanities degrees so the time spent in university does not produce a
workforce that will optimally serve the country. Being under-educated is a signal that education
has been at a high cost of time and not being adequately equipped to contribute optimally to the
economy is a feature of under-education.

The cost of being educated is what is lost because the person is educated. There are high costs
especially in the case of over-educated and mis-educated people because in both cases the
education given does not facilitate participation of the graduate but instead produces a liability for
the country. The university education in Ghana has unfortunately produced both mis-educated
and under-educated people.

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The lopsided science/humanities student ratio makes way for over-education because great deal
of students are being equipped with skills but there are not enough structures in place to absorb
them. For this reason we have many over-educated university graduates. Because of the limited
space, often students will take any field of study they are offered in the university just to get into
the system, instead of seeking admission in other tertiary institutions. Many students only aim at
going to university for the prestige of it. It is not uncommon to hear the remark, ‘After all I can
also say I have been to the university’. There is little thought of how this education will be of
national benefit. Other tertiary institutions are often, erroneously seen as last resorts.

Though there is increasing awareness of the worth of indigenous resources, culture and values,
the university environment and education does not seem to promote this. White-collar
employment is still seen as the most ideal for a university graduate and in this respect universities
are producing mis-educated graduates.

Financial returns gained from education are rather low because there has been the constant
struggle for citizens to contribute directly to university education and pay taxes. With time
universities have instituted some measures to improve public contribution to university education
including levies, fees and funds. However on the whole financial returns are far below cost except
in the case of private universities. Private universities have shown that it is possible to run a
university without government support contrary to the popular belief that government must fund
tertiary education for it to be a success.

The returns as far as time is concerned can be seen in terms of the time individuals and
government save because people have been educated. As individuals, education makes it
possibility for one to understand and apply knowledge that increases productivity per time spent
in production. As simple example would be an educated shop attendant calculating change
quicker and more accurately, a step further would be using a computer programme to serve more
customers within a shorter period of time. Having an education creates opportunities for the use
of more productive methods that save time and are more productive.

112
At the national level the increase in education makes it possible for development to go at a more
rapid pace. As a country there is the possibility to ‘leap frog’ on already existing solutions only if
the labour force is at the level where it understands the old solutions and is capable of improving
them. The years of development can be reduced drastically even with an improvement in personal
and community hygiene. The funds and time allotted to curing simple disease could be used for
other productive developmental projects. Currently university education has had some impact in
this area however the drawbacks that do not allow higher returns in this area are the lack of
technological input and the focus on memorisation. The lack of technological input limits the rate
at which graduates can tap into technological innovations that promote efficiency. The focus on
memorisation does not encourage the internalisation and use of what has been taught so even
though graduates may have been exposed to more efficient methods these methods are not used in
practise.

The returns that come with being educated are high when education is a force that develops well-
rounded and engaged citizens, and builds more cohesive and participatory societies as stated
earlier in the theory chapter. 101 As has been discussed, the university system produces many
under-educated, over-educated and mis-educated graduates but there have also been returns. As
and individual there is still the value of acquiring some knowledge and interacting with people
from different backgrounds. The connections one gains from such interactions are valuable both
in the social setting and in the workplace for the individual. For the country, the university has
produced many professional in various fields who have made remarkable contributions to the
country. Unfortunately, there is the ‘brain-drain’ which takes a chunk of the country’s highly
qualified personnel and lowers the gains that come to the country from having personnel with
university education.

On the whole, the costs of education are quite high and the returns are lowered by some factors
such as the struggle for citizens to contribute directly to university, the lack of technological
focus and the science/technology and arts/humanities ratio among other factors.

101
Financing Education – Investments and Returns Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2002 Edition
(Executive Summary), p 5

113
The tertiary institutions have contributed to the majority of the highly skilled labour force that
runs the country today. If there has been any contribution to the economy from professional skills
most of the credit goes to the tertiary institutions of the country including universities. However
there is much more that can and should be done for tertiary education to contribute optimally to
society.

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 9
The way forward

Table 9.1: Ghana’s GDP as a percentage of the World from 1950 to 2000
GDP Per Capita (1951-2000)

$1,600

$1,400

$1,200

$1,000
GDP Per Capita

Ghana
$800
Africa

$600

$400

$200

$0
1951

1956

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996
Years

Table 9.2: Ghana’s GDP per capita from 1950 to 2000 compared with Africa’s GDP per
capita from 1950 to 2000
GDP as a Percentage of the World (1950 - 2000)

60

50
GDP as a Percentage of the World GDP

40

Ghana
30
Africa

20

10

0
70

72

74

76

78

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

98

00
50

52

54

56

58

60

62

64

66

68

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

20
19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

Years

115
So far we have traced education in the Gold Coast from the colonial era when education was
firstly a heritage, a means of evangelising, method of making governance easier and a mechanism
for the supply of a semi-trained workforce. The outcome of education was mixed because of the
different reasons for providing education. Eventually education only made the colony harder to
govern and eventually fuelled the struggle for independence.

In the era of Gordon Guggisberg, the aim of education was to give the Africans an opportunity of
having material and moral progress, giving them the opportunity to enter any trade or profession.
In all, nationals were not to be denationalized but to graft skilfully on national characteristics.
These ideas were manifest through the establishment of a model institution, Achimota College.
The outcomes of Guggisberg’s pursuits were overshadowed by the deterioration of the already
existing system as against his limited efforts.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah wanted to have an educational system that produced a scientific and
technical minded people. In this bid to provide education for all he arranged a rapid and massive
expansion of educational facilities at the primary level. He also built some secondary schools.
Eventually, the expansion caused a bottle-neck at the primary level with too few secondary
schools to absorb graduates from the primary and middle schools.

The next decade and a half was characterised by a great deal of political instability. Governments
were in office for an average of 3 years each. During this time there was little continuity in
policies. The three needs that these governments all tried to fulfil were the need to cut cost, the
need to expand secondary education and the need to link educational goals with manpower
requirements. A major change during this time was the introduction of the National Services
Scheme.

From 1982 to 1999 the government was led by Flt. Jeremiah John Rawlings. During this time an
entirely new educational system was introduced. The aim of this system was to shorten the
duration of pre-university education, make education more practical, make education more
accessible and cut cost. Eventually the implementation of the programme was fraught with
problems that had been foreseen by some educationists and members of the public. A committee

116
was especially appointed by the new President John Agyekum Kufor in October 2002, to review
the system.

In summary, the costs of university education are quite high and the returns are lowered by some
factors such as the struggle for citizens to contribute directly to university, the lack of
technological focus and the science/technology and arts/humanities ratio among other factors.

In the following section we will look at the report of the President’s Committee in comparison to
other recommendations made over the years. The issue to be discussed will be whether these
recommendations and view points have something to give education in Ghana today. Some
recommendations for the way forward will also be suggested. In summary the suggestions for the
way forward will be clearly listed.

9.2 Previous Recommendations

The Phelp-Stokes reports and the Advisor committee recommendations
The Phelp-Stokes reports, the Advisor committee recommendations and Guggisberg’s 16
principles emphasised customised education for Africans. 102 The emphasis on agriculture and an
education specially suited for Africans was rather problematic because, according to Foster, this
was precisely the kind of education that the Africans did not want. The two main reasons given
for this are, firstly it prevented them from becoming like the European elite. Secondly,
‘Africanized’ education did not immediately benefit individual Africans.

First, any attempt to provide an education that would not produce people like the European elites
was looked upon with suspicion. There was some basis for the skepticism because the colonizers
were definitely careful to retain the colony. Even Guggisberg, a colonialist, in his plans for
education stated this:

‘We want to give all Africans the opportunity of both moral and material progress by opening for
them the benefits and delights that come from literature and by equipping them with the

102
A summary of Phelp-Stokes Reports and the Advisor Committee’s recommendations are listed more fully from
pages 35 to 37 of this paper.

117
knowledge necessary to succeed in their occupations, no matter how humble. We want to give
those who wish an opportunity of qualifying themselves to enter any trade or profession. And
finally, we want to give the best men and women the opportunity of becoming leaders of their
own countrymen in thought, industries and the professions.’ 103

One would note that leadership was only in terms of industry and profession. Politics is
conspicuously missing. Being a leader of one’s own countrymen is very different from being the
leader of one’s own country. This statement seems to imply that the aim was to educate the
citizens well enough to run affairs of a country that would still be the property of the British
government. Education was then not primarily to increase the freedoms of the people but to make
their slavery more profitable to the colonizer. There was no guarantee that the standard of living
for example would improve. If this assertion is correct then all the development (including
educational development) would be geared in the direction of what would solidify British rule
and control.

However, the continued education of citizens in a British manner, including sending students to
study in Europe, made Ghanaians more aware of their servitude. Foster points out that without the
continued British slant to education, political independence may have come much later. However
the economic implications for this chosen path were unfortunate.

Second, ‘Africanized’ education did not immediately benefit individual Africans. The Gold Coast
was still a colony and the economic benefits of an improved workforce went to England. So as
Foster says:
‘Any attempt to provide a useful education for the African could only be interpreted as an attempt
to keep him in permanent subservience to an European economic and political elite.’ 104

Now that there is no colonizer to benefit from the economic proceeds of an educational system
tailored to the needs of the country, the only one who stands to gain is the people of Ghana if the
wealth is fairly distributed.

103
Kay G. B. and Hymer S. , The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana – A collection of documents and
statistics 1900-1960, p. 278
104 104
Philip Foster , Education and Social Change in Ghana, p. 162

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9.2.1 Dzobo Report and Current Recommendations
An attempt to implement the recommendations of the Dzobo report is what we see today. The
current educational system in Ghana is basically what was instituted by the PNDC Government.
It offers six years of primary school, three years of Junior Secondary School (JSS), three years of
Senior Secondary School (SSS) and four years of University education. Other post-secondary
institutions such as nursing, polytechnics and teacher training last for two to three years. The
prior assessment of the system in the previous chapter does not rank the project as a great
success. However there is still room for considering these two questions: ‘What went wrong?’
and ‘Can it become a success?’.
The first question was answered in the previous chapter citing the rushed and ill-planned nature
of implementation as the main reason for the system breakdown. The reason for the rush is
however unclear. Now that this system has already been put in place the next step is to find ways
of refining it to make it a success. Over time it has been proven that a hasty replacement or
reform of an entire educational system only tends to revert to what it originally was amidst much
confusion. The new democratically elected government has not made any radical changes as yet.
It has however, appointed a committee to review the current system and give recommendations.
The recommendations of the report will be discussed in the light of the trends seen previously.

9.3 Current review and recommendations

The most recent educational committee constituted to review education was set up in 2002 by the
current President John Agyekum Kufour. Meeting the Challenges of Education in the Twenty
First Century is the current working document and its findings and recommendations are the
latest. According to this document the recommended Philosophy of Education is:

‘The education system of Ghana should create well-balanced (intellectually, spiritually,

emotionally and physically) individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, values and aptitudes
for self-actualisation and for the socio-economic and political transformation of the nation.’

Out of the proposed philosophy there were 18 principles suggested. Twelve of the 18 principles
will be examined. Interrelated principles will be discussed together as a group.

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Principle 3 Quality education for all
This principle stresses on the need for quality education at all levels. It is interesting to note that
the report does not insist on quality education being compulsory and free as in the Nkrumah and
Rawlings regimes. It has become obvious over the years that Guggisberg’s principle 13 has rung
true, education can neither be compulsory nor free. Quality must first be ensured before
accessibility is considered. Once the desired quality is achieved, education must then be made
increasingly accessible without compromising quality. Rapid expansion in the case of Ghana has
only served to increase unemployment because of the attitude it creates towards manual work.

Principle 4 Nationalism and citizenship

Principle 15 Democracy
Principle 16 Culture and Tradition

Principles 4, 15, and 16 are interwoven. For nationalism and citizenship (Principle 4) to be
upheld, one has to have a sense of pride in culture and tradition (Principle 16) and one must
respect the democracy of the country (Principle 15).

Nationalism, citizenship, culture and tradition are all elements that were echoed as far back as
Guggisberg’s era. The new element, Democracy, is fundamental to the success of Ghana’s
educational system and economic growth. The failure to uphold democracy is the main reason for
Ghana’s economic problems. The various coup d'états have only served to disrupt continuity in
policy. A new government is often forced to repeal economically sound policies to appease
supporters only to have them reinstituted later in a different form to prevent a collapse of the
system. Because the support base is usually the poorly educated masses, they have little
understanding of economic policies and their later effects. The masses are quick to decry policies
that cause discomfort with no foresight of future benefit. Respect for democracy will hopefully
enable governments to function appropriately without fear of a sudden overthrow. Policies will
hopefully have enough time to mature and produce the expected results. Early training in the
rudiments of politics and democracy will hopefully nurture a better breed of politicians who
understand the pressing issues and do not institute policies only for popular support. The

120
electorate will also be equipped to make more informed choices if they understand politics and
democracy.

In addition to democracy, traditional rule should be explained because this was the original form
of governance before the arrival of the European, and still exists today. There are some tribes that
still have strong traditional leadership. Some educated traditional rulers have proved to be an
asset to their tribes because of their drive for development. Unfortunately chieftaincy has also
been a source of conflict in some areas (especially the Northern region). Governments from
colonial times have often had to ensure that policies were implemented by going through
traditional rulers. There have been clashes between traditional rulers and governments when
traditional rulers feel overridden. It is necessary to teach the mechanisms in traditional
governance to preserve the current general peace that prevails and prevent the onslaught of tribal
conflict due to chieftaincy disputes.

Principle 7 Promotion of analytical, creative, critical and problem-solving skills

Principle 8 Education relevant for life
Principle 10 Holistic education
Principle 14 Training for self-employment
Principle 17 Science and Technology
Principle 18 Lifelong learning

Principles 7, 8, 10, 14, 17 and 18 are interrelated, with Principle 10 being the core and the other
principles being aspects of it. These six principles also promote what has been mentioned earlier
in Chapter 2 as being ‘well- rounded’ and dynamic individuals. Principle 10 states that the
educational system should provide opportunities to develop the full potential of the individual to
enable him or her to make meaningful contributions to society. To realize this it is necessary for
education to promote general creative, critical and problem-solving skills (Principle 7) that will
make education relevant for life (Principle 8). Furthermore, an education that is holistic and
relevant for life should encompass the dynamism of science and technology (Principle 17). The
dynamism of the world makes education a lifelong learning (Principle 18) process. Finally
because Ghana is currently being propelled by private sector development not all can be assured

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of employment by the government and must be trained to be self-employed (Principle 14) if need
be.

Over the years governments have tried to provide a holistic education by introducing skills that
will make it possible for the future workforce to make positive contributions to the economy. In
the colonial era the focus was on agriculture. Dr. Nkrumah focused on producing a scientifically-
technically minded people to propel the goal of having an industrial country. He hoped to develop
the science, vocational and technical sectors at the tertiary and secondary levels. During the years
of 1966 to 1981 each government acknowledged the need for practical manpower skills even
though the methods to accomplishing this were varied. The Rawlings Era attempted to instil all of
the above at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) levels. Time
and time again the educational systems were poorly implemented causing them to relapse into the
original British system that was far too ‘bookish’ and detached from the economic needs of the
country. The underlying ideas and concepts of making education holistic are laudable but can it
be instituted in such a way that it will have the desired effect? This requires a well planned,
systematic change done at a monitored pace. Over the years hurried mass educational reforms
have only been fraught with problems and have been unable to achieve what had been planned.
The element of “lifelong learning” is not entirely new. Governor Guggisberg’s training colleges
provided an avenue for worker education to be upgraded. Dr. Nkrumah instituted mass education
to bring about adult literacy. During the turbulent times these institutions continued to exist but
were not well taken care of. Lifelong education as stated in the report of The President’s
Committee on Review of Education Reforms in Ghana, states that the individuals should be able
to improve upon their competencies because the world is facing rapid changes. This will increase
the pace at which the country adapts to change. It will support the training often done by the
public sector to stay in international competition. The more accessible this training is the lower
the cost will be for both public and private companies to train staff. Currently apart from a few
government workers colleges’ employee training is done by private companies at high costs.

Principle 11 Strengthening of multilingualism in schools

French has long been a part of the school curriculum but has increasingly been poorly taught.
Teaching and studying to pass examinations does not encourage one to study French well enough

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to communicate. Written examinations also do not support spoken French. Apart for those who
take French as an elective course few students can communicate in French. For the purposes of
trade, security and good neighbourly relations it is an advantage if citizens are multilingual. All
the countries that border Ghana were originally French colonies and therefore have French as
their official language(Ivory Coast , Burkina Faso and Togo). Currently there are refugees from
Togo and Ivory Coast residing in Ghana due to conflicts ensuing in those countries. This
heightens the need for national security agencies to be multilingual to ensure peace within
Ghana’s borders and to ensure that there is not a spill over of the conflicts. Ghana has fortunately
been spared the agony of a full-scale war but it would be foolish ignore the possibility.

9.4 Final Recommendations

The educational system should develop well-rounded and engaged citizens, and build more
cohesive and participatory societies.” 105 Education has two parts, formal and informal. Holistic
education incorporates both parts. Formal education usually stems from the culture and
philosophy of the nation in question. It usually has its roots in the fundamental values of the
people. Formal education tends to impart knowledge that is consistent with the values, the culture
and the tradition of the people. Formal education should validate informal education further
shaping the individual into a cohesive and participatory member of the society. However, in
countries that have ‘inherited’ educational systems from colonial masters this is not so. Formal
education, in such cases, is not a product of the informal education, but a ‘replacement’ of it
because that is how the colonizers intended it. Formal education as stated before was to make
citizens easier to govern and more useful to the colonizer. So in most countries that have been
colonized there is a disconnection between fundamental values from informal education and the
values of formal education. This gap is part of the reason why the educational system in Ghana
does not seem to focus on building the country. Informal values emphasize vocations that are
typically known to be useful for the growth and sustenance of the traditional economy and
society. The formal education (first introduced by the British) focuses on vocations that would
have made the citizens useful to the colonizers of the time. Even though the entire formal

105
Financing Education – Investments and Returns Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2002 Edition
(Executive Summary), p 5

123
educational system was changed in the Rawlings era it has been shown that the system has
somewhat reverted to its old state.

The effects of formal education do not cease in the classroom. Formal education influences the
future life choices of the individual often more so than informal education. Formal education is a
larger influence because it is perceived as the more enlightening option instead of a complement
to informal education.

An educational system that develops well-rounded and engaged citizens, and builds more
cohesive and participatory societies, must have its formal education in sync with its informal
component of education.
Some suggestions of what should be done in the formal educational sector to achieve holistic
education are:

1. Make it applicable to everyday life

To begin with, the educational system must cease to be entirely bookish. There is the need for
theories but these theories should be presented in such a way that students know how to apply
what they have been taught in the classroom to everyday life. For example, if a subject such as
life skills is given a more practical approach it is possible for some basic health problems to be
solved without excessive extra cost because the life skill curriculum does mention how to avoid a
number of diseases.

The more practical the subjects become the less likely it will be that students will finish schooling
and will be unable to earn a decent living, especially, considering the fact that the JSS program
has mainly practical subjects that are unfortunately being taught in a solely theoretical manner in
most cases.

2. Offer career guidance; and encourage entrepreneurship and creativity

An educational system that has adequate career guidance and entrepreneurial training will bring a
limit to the number of ‘over educated’ people that the system produces. Students who take it upon
themselves to train in professions that do not yet have relevance will be fully aware of the limits

124
placed on them if they intend to work in Ghana and can begin to strategize to create a niche in the
market for themselves. One such outstanding example is the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s
cardiothoracic centre. This centre came about through the initiative of Ghana’s only
cardiothoracic surgeon (at the time), Dr. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, trained in Germany. His
drive to make his profession relevant to his country propelled him to raise funds both internally
and externally to establish and sustain the only Cardiothoracic Centre in the sub region. At the
birth of the project Ghana did not have the infrastructure for such a project and it was met with
much skepticism from some members of the public. Some even questioned how many people
suffered from heart disease. It took 8 years for the plans to be accepted by the government and for
seed money to be given for work to start.

Dr. Frimpong-Boateng is an entrepreneur at heart, he raises ostriches which is extremely

uncommon in Ghana and is recently entering politics. Is it not possible to develop a philosophy of
education that encourages students to be creative and look beyond what exists today to what they
can create? Once students start life with the mindset that there is a higher appreciation for
creating value as against just staying within the status quo it is more likely that Ghanaians will
aspire to greater heights and work to make their professions worthwhile. Having a sense of
purpose early in school will most likely better shape the perspective of the student in the future.

3. Improve the understanding of the relationship between democracy, civic responsibility

and traditional governance
The reintroduction of the study of civics and traditional customs in schools will help the country
make a better transition to democratic rule and also help citizens see the place for traditional
customs and norms within democracy. ‘Mis-education’ will be less likely to occur once
Ghanaians are made aware that there is a place for traditional rulership within the framework of
society despite the change to democracy.

Once the framework of democracy is made clear at an early stage, future citizens can know what
to expect from the system and what they can do to make the system effective and military
takeovers will really be a thing of the past. The practical teaching of civic responsibilities in
schools should be the beginning of having a better attitude to work.

125
The outcome of having a more compatible formal educational system should be felt in the nation
as a whole. There should national sensitization of the value and nobility of agriculture and all
other fields that are dire to Ghana’s economic growth. It should be more natural for people to
gravitate toward professions that serve to improve the society.

Apart from this, both private and public media houses should be more willing and able to
promote national culture, as well as balanced civic and political education. For a country so far
behind it is necessary to use all means possible to educate its populace. To ensure that this tool is
not used for political indoctrination it should be over seen by the minister of education who is not
politically appointed and should have strict guidelines. If possible the programs and/or scripts
should be screened appropriately before being aired or published.
The mode of delivery however should be left to the media house to ensure creativity. The quality
of education being given should be the primary focus followed by the amount of time and the cost
of airtime or column space. Incentives such as prizes based on public ratings could be given to
the media houses to encourage good quality from the media houses.

In line with the above suggestion, the relationship between education and politics could be
improved by having educational policies being independent of politics. The Ministry of
Education should become as neutral as possible with appointments being on the basis of
expertise, qualification and abilities rather than political affiliation. There should be measures put
in place to ensure that the educational system cannot be easily manipulated merely for political
reasons. The minister of education for example should be elected by a board of educator
independent of government. The minister of education should not have the distraction of having a
constituency to take care of as all ministers do. The term of office should not depend on the
government in power but instead on the board that appoints him. If this is the case, policies and
actions will less likely be for merely political reasons.

It is clear that the educational system in Ghana had been in need of some change. Over time many
changes have been instituted but have not been entirely effective. For this reason the following
suggestions are made as to the process by which changes should be made. Though some of the

126
steps may seem basic and obvious they are mentioned because in some cases they were
overlooked. To begin with systems should be implemented with caution and with pilot projects to
ensure that mistakes can be quickly corrected and possible large scale problems quickly
intercepted.

Any new system or type of training should begin at the teacher training level. The teacher training
colleges should be well endowed and the quality of students admitted should be reasonably high.
Teacher training should not be seen as second choice after university training. Teacher training
should be promoted as a respectable end in itself.

If a new system of education is to be put in place, the schools used for the pilot project should
have its teachers replaced by the newly trained teachers whiles the old teachers are being
retrained. With time more schools should undergo the same process of retraining its teachers.
Initially there should be one school in every region that acts as a model school. As more teachers
are (re)trained each district should have a model school and so on.

Private schools have been very instrumental in increasing the quality of students on the whole
and for this reason they should be encouraged. However to maintain quality and, prevent
exploitation there should be an increase in monitoring and supervision. If the possibility exists the
governments should assist private schools.

To improve the success ratings of the current educational system manpower needs and
predictions should be used to adjust educational programs. This should be done with a long term
focus. Regular meetings should be held with various stakeholders to ensure that the educational
system meets the needs of the country. Periodic reviews should not be limited to the change of
government.

At the university level the various departments should be made semi-autonomous bodies so that
there is the likelihood that there would be a better focus on the needs of each department
including fundraising, and research needs.

127
The university could take an active role in bringing in consultancy business to it faculty by
promoting the skills sets that its faculty members have. The university can allot a specific number
of hours to research and consultancy. Assisting the faculty to earn extra income gives the
university greater moral right to monitor the activities of its faculty and to ensure that the students
do not suffer as a result of private consultancy work. The university’s involvement will also
reduce the time needed for faculty to search for private jobs. These ideas can be done at the
departmental level (especially if there is more autonomy) to ensure better monitoring.

Overall, in Ghana, politics have largely affected the educational system and the educational
system has had substantial influence on the economic development. Education is a key
component that influences the economic fortunes of Ghana. A careful, deliberate and sustained
attempt to improve the educational system could hopefully help improve the economy of Ghana
in the future. Moreover, an improved educational system will ensure other benefits such as a
more stable political environment, a healthier attitude to work and an improvement in health
issues. A more educated populace is more likely to use its resources more efficiently. That alone
will increase the quality of life of the people because the resources they have will achieve much
more. Ghana needs a good educational system for economic growth but beyond that she needs a
good educational system to improve the quality of life of her people

128
 Appendices
Appendix 2.1: Time line of Educational contributions of Traders and Missionaries in the
Gold Coast

Date Key Situation

Facilitators Implementations/Change
1529 Portuguese • Schools were attached to castles and forts
Merchants • Run by European merchants for Mulattoes and some local children
• A few of the students continued to study in Europe at the expense of the
merchant companies

1638- French Worked in Axim. Interrupted by departure of Portuguese

1641 Missionaries
1644 Dutch Established a school in Elmina ( existed for over 200 years)
Merchants

1694 English English found school in Cape Coast Castle

Merchants
1737 Dutch Trader Jacobus Capitien sent to Holland by Dutch trader. Went to school in Leyden
University (1737). Was later instrumental in reducing Fanti language into
writing and starting a school.
1722 Danish Danes form school in Christianborg Castle
Merchants
1820 Missionaries Between 1880-81:
Basel, • Govt Schools – 3
Wesleyan • Basel Mission – 47
Methodist, • Wesleyan Methodist – 84
Bremen, • Bremen Mission – 4
Catholic, • Roman Catholic – 1

129
Appendix 4.1: The ‘Sixteen Principles’ of Governor Guggisberg 106

1. Primary education must be thorough and be from the bottom to the top.
2. The provision of secondary schools with an educational standard that will fit young men
and women to enter university.
3. The provision of a university.
4. Equal opportunities to those given to boys should be provided for the education girls.
5. Co-education is desirable during certain stages of education.
6. The staff of teachers must be of the highest possible quality.
7. Character-training must take and important place in education.
8. Religious teaching should form part of education
9. Organised games should form part of school life.
10. The course in every school should include special reference to the health, welfare and
industries of the locality.
11. A sufficient staff of efficient African inspectors of schools must be trained and
maintained.
12. Whilst and English education must be given, it must be based solidly on the vernacular.
13. Education cannot be compulsory nor free.
14. There should be cooperation between the government and the missions, and the latter
should be subsidised for educational purposes.
15. The government must have the ultimate control of education through out the Gold Coast.
16. The provision of trade schools with a technical and literary education that will fit young
men to become skilled craftsmen and useful citizens.

106
McWilliam H.O.A and Kwamena-Poh M.A., The Development of Education in Ghana, p. 57

130
Appendix 7.1: Enrolment and Enrolment Growth Rates for JSS & SSS (1987-1997)

JSS SSS
Year Number Growth Number Growth Number of Percentage
Rate Rate students that growth in
do not enter students that do
SSS 107 not enter SSS 108

1987/88 610094 Data not 153284 Data not 456810

available available
1988/89 608690 -0.2 154477 0.8 454213 -0.56851
1989/90 625018 2.7 167640 8.5 457378 0.69681
1990/91 569343 -8.9 199260 18.9 370083 -19.086
1991/92 605760 6.4 235962 18.4 369798 -0.07701
1992/93 644976 6.5 257355 9.1 387621 4.819658
1993/94 676182 4.8 245897 -4.5 430285 11.00663
1994/95 690558 2.1 209190 -14.9 481368 11.8719
1996/97 738057 6.9 199028 -4.9 539029 11.97857
1997/98 755162 2.3 Data not
available
Total 6523840 1822093
Source: National Education Forum – Ministry of Education (1999)

107
Author’s additional analysis
108
Author’s additional analysis

131
Appendix 7.2: Share of different sectors in the total GDP ( in percent)

Sectors 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

Agriculture 49.6 49.0 47.9 48.6 48.6 47.8 47.3
Agriculture and Livestock 34.9 33.2 33.3 33.9 33.5 33.1 33.0
Cocoa Production and Mktg. 8.8 9.7 9.1 9.5 9.8 9.3 9.0
Industry 16.6 16.7 15.9 16.0 16.2 16.0 16.2
Mining 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.9 2.0 1.8
Manufact. 9.6 10.0 9.2 8.7 8.7 9.1 9.0
Construction 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.3
Services 33.6 33.4 35.8 35.3 34.9 35.7 36.1
Transport, storage & comm.. 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.4
Wholesale and Retail trade 18.9 18.7 19.0 17.2 18.3 19.0 19.2
Finance and insurance 2.7 2.7 3,9 4.2 3.6 3.8 3.8
Govt. Services 6.9 6.9 7.5 8.2 7.5 7.5 7.5
Community Social Services 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.1
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana.

132
Appendix 9.1: Curriculum Principles of Education 109

1. Knowledge and love of God

2. Nurturing sound and moral character and behaviour
3. Quality education for all
4. Nationalism and citizenship
5. Globalisation
6. Respect for diversity
7. Promotion of analytical, creative , critical and problem-solving skills
8. Education relevant for life
9. Nurturing commitment
10. Holistic education
11. Strengthening of multilingualism in schools
12. Environmental awareness
13. Gender sensitivity
14. Training for self-employment
15. Democracy
16. Culture and Tradition
17. Science and Technology
18. Lifelong learning

109
Report of the President’s Committee on Review of Education Reforms in Ghana, Meeting the challenges of
Education in the Twenty First Century, pg 12

133
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