The Executive Chairman of Dominion University, Professor Felix Nikoi Hammond, has called for an overhaul of university education in Ghana.
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He underscored the need for those in charge of the sector to adopt a new approach that would help solve the country’s socio-economic challenges. Prof. Hammond said Ghana’s current university education did not encourage self-employment or individual innovation, since most of the courses were centred on white-collar jobs and not entrepreneurship.
That, he explained, was the reason for the high unemployment rate among university graduates in the country. He made the call at the launch of the “Trustworthiness, Experience, Authority, Success, and Expertise” (TEASE) evolution, an initiative by the university to academically empower its students to be problem solvers after completion.
“It is very sad for us to have the association of unemployed graduates in an economy. That is an indictment, but we should do something about it. “The way to do it is not just to issue certificates, but make sure that you build in their skills so that when they step out, they know what they are doing”, he stated.
University education
The educationist explained that the current university education system in the country could be seen in two forms where some were doing the same and just a few were differentiating through nurturing young people with the requisite skills that are needed in the current economy.
Prof. Hammond said those institutions running normal teaching and learning were producing graduates who lacked the skills to take up challenges in the economy. He said a thriving education system had to deliver four main functions which included economic development, social development, cultural development and personal growth.
“It is very easy for everyone to say we are raising leaders, it is also easy for us to say there’s a shortage, there is a mismatch between what the universities are producing and what the market is looking for, it is all about the systems that we are using,” he said.
TEASE Initiative
The initiative seeks to inculcate some values into their students to help them build a future in the area of TEASE. Touching on the initiative, Prof. Hammond noted that all the country needed was graduates who would be trusted in society and were ready to take up challenging positions.
“Dominion for a long time was doing what other universities were doing, but we realised that it is not producing and giving the necessary effect. “We have taken two years to study and understand where we need to pitch our camp and what element will make the difference,” he explained.
He said the university would introduce programmes tailored to grooming the students to be trustworthy while ensuring they underwent training (internship) in reputable organisations to enable them to gain experiences before graduating.
“At the end of their stay in Dominion, they must be critical thinkers, they must be able to communicate effectively and they must be innovative and creative in everything they do,” he said.
