Education in Ghana: A Comparative Analysis

The provided content comprises a collection of research papers, articles, and books on various aspects of education in Ghana, West Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. The papers explore topics such as inclusive education, higher education policy, and governance reforms. They also touch on themes like the impact of education on poverty reduction, the role of universities in economic development, and the challenges faced by students with disabilities. Overall, the content presents a comprehensive overview of the state of education in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa.

Dissertation Report

Executive Summary
In this research report, the current efforts in the Ghana are analyzed in order to determine the
impact of HERANA project on the current level of education, but there are various issues such as
sources of funding, infrastructure development, and others that impact on the current level of
higher education in Ghana. The research objective of the study is to determine the current level
of education in Ghana, to inquire the current effort that provides accessible and affordable higher
education in Ghana and develop a case study of its objective, process, and current impact. The
aim of the study is to determine the impact of HERANA project on the affordability and
accessibility of higher education in Ghana. The research methodology is quantitative research
method which is used to collect the data through questionnaire as a data collection tool and data
is analyzed through using MS Excel which shows that the current efforts of HERANA project
are improving the affordability and accessibility of higher education in Ghana but still various
initiatives are required in order to improve the higher education system in Ghana.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Chapter-1.........................................................................................................................................4
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Research objective...........................................................................................................................6
Aim of study.................................................................................................................................6
Background and context of the study...........................................................................................7
Statement of the research problem...............................................................................................7
Definition of key terms and concepts..........................................................................................8
Assumptions.................................................................................................................................8
Summary......................................................................................................................................8
Chapter-2.......................................................................................................................................10
Literature Review..........................................................................................................................10
Introduction................................................................................................................................10
The condition of education in Ghana.........................................................................................10
The role of higher education in Ghana.......................................................................................10
Efforts by government to provide accessible and affordable higher education in Ghana.........11
Education Strategic Plan........................................................................................................11
National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy...........................................................12
Role of higher education in Ghana can be understood from the perspective of institutional
stakeholders................................................................................................................................13
Efforts by university to provide accessible and affordable higher education in Ghana............13
Initiatives around teaching and learning................................................................................13
The Higher Education and Economic Development project.....................................................14
Financing of higher education in Ghana....................................................................................16
Regulatory framework...............................................................................................................16
Constraints limiting STI application in Ghana..........................................................................16
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................16
Chapter-3.......................................................................................................................................17
Research Methodology..................................................................................................................17

Research Objectives...................................................................................................................17
Research Design.........................................................................................................................17
Research Framework and Methods............................................................................................18
Sample........................................................................................................................................19
Participants.................................................................................................................................19
Methods of Data Generation......................................................................................................19
Analysis of Data.........................................................................................................................20
Limitations of the study.............................................................................................................20
Chapter-5.......................................................................................................................................21
Results and Findings......................................................................................................................21
Data analysis..............................................................................................................................32
Summary....................................................................................................................................33
Chapter-5.......................................................................................................................................34
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................34
Overview of the study................................................................................................................35
Implications................................................................................................................................36
Recommendations for practice...................................................................................................36
Recommendations for future research.......................................................................................37
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................37
Appendix........................................................................................................................................39
References......................................................................................................................................41

Chapter-1
Introduction
The focus of the study is to understand the impact of current efforts in the Ghana which provides
accessible and affordable higher education. The sources of funding are the major issue in the
accessibility of higher education in Ghana, so the current effort of the government is to provide
the sources of funding for higher education which enables to facilitate the higher education for
students in Ghana. The funding policies are the current efforts which are done by the government
in order to facilitatehigher education in Ghana. The policies are a hypothesis in which the
designed plan shows the hypothesis of conversion of hypothesis into the government action. The
policy reforms and the formulation of new policies have transformed the higher education with
the aim of pointing various issues and challenges faced in the accessibility of higher education in
Ghana. The policies have been developed in the various areas of higher education which enables
to provide funding facilities in order to ensure the smooth running of the entire higher education
system. For example, policies are designed in order to ensure the quality of higher education.
The
The various other efforts are currently taking place in the Ghana such as the development of
universities, educational programs by the government and others.The HERANA (Higher
education and economic development) is the program which was established in 2007 in order to
research on the higher education and advocacy network in Africa. It is coordinated by the high
education transform. The higher education masters in Africa program is the capacity building
component of HERANA which contributes towards the strengthening of higher education in

Africa. The research component of the program contributes towards the research of higher
education in Ghana. The HERANA is funded by the various organizations such as the Ford
foundation, the Rockefeller foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Kresge
foundation. The funding of Higher education masters in Africa program is done by NORAD.
The project focus on the complex links between the economic development and higher education
in Africa. The objectives of HERANA include evidence-based information related to the higher
education and the working of high education sector; link the network of African higher education
with other international groups, sharing of capacity building of inter-disciplinary higher
education in a network of researchers and senior researchers. The multiple sources of funding
facilitate higher education in Ghana. The South African funding system is implemented in the
national policy which facilitates higher education and the higher education policies has taken
into consideration equitability, democracy and integrate economic development because it is
considered as the major concern for the development of the general people in Ghana. According
to the research, there is a complexity between the Centre for education policy development and
Democratic university staff association, but they are trying to achieve the targets in order to
facilitate higher education in Ghana.
The planned and systematic review programs are introduced by the government in order to
review the standard of education, teaching, administration, scholarship and infrastructure which
enable to provide a high quality of education in Ghana. The role of universities plays an
important role in providing higher education in Ghana which enables to develop the economy by
increasing the literacy rate of people in Ghana. According to the Varghese et al., 2013 the public
sector institutions and state plays a central role in providing higher education in Ghana through
developing the strategy which enhances the higher education in an efficient and effective

manner. The higher education is provided by universities. In the 1960s and 1970s, many
universities are established in the Africa which supports higher education in Ghana, and the
public universities in these countries are the symbol of self-respect and national pride. The
expansion in the higher education provides aspiration of political and economic of the newly
independent government. The government was willing to invest in the higher education which
provides the facilities for development in Ghana. In the twenty-one century, the role is centrally
managed by the universities in order to provide higher education. Since after that the sector is
tremendously expanded in the past few years. The sector of higher education attracts a large
number of stakeholders due to which the higher education plays an important role in the
transformation of Ghana. However, there are still various challenges which are faced in by the
higher education sector such as funding, the concern of quality, poor research base and
institution capabilities and others.
There are many revolutionary changes which took place in the higher education globally which
impacts on, the higher education of Africa. The internationalism impacts on the activities of
higher education in Ghana which enables to shape the higher education in the 21st century. It is
the major force on the higher education which results in various opportunities, challenges, and
risk which demands in-depth analysis and understandings. The role of higher education in Africa
is not contestable in the sustainable political, social and economic development. The sector is
struggling due to inadequate capacity and few resources due to which it is difficult to respond to
the increasing demand.
The various challenges are faced in the development of higher education in Ghana which has
pertinently threatened the socio-economic wellbeing. The summarization of challenges was
shown within the Millennium development goals. According to the African progress report, 2012

it is shown that the progress is being made towards the attainment of the Millennium
development goals in which the gains in education, disease survivors against malaria and HIV,
and child survival has been improved. However, the overall progress remains slow, and many
citizens are still in the trap of poverty due to which there is a level of inequality in the across the
Africa.
The project starts with the review of international literature on the relationship between
economic development and higher education which is followed by the three case studies of three
systems that had successfully linked the higher education policy and economic development in
three states, namely, South Korea, Finland and North Carolina. The analytical framework of the
project the universities are considered as the institution for the production of high-level skills and
the innovation of knowledge, and it is based on the traditional core business. In the government
knowledge policies, the higher education is one of the important areas. It shows that the political
actors are more interested in the higher education than the socio-economic stakeholders. It raises
the issues of system and the coordination level of knowledge with the adequate structure within
the political system. The research group has taken three case studies in the development of
national strategy in order to enhance the higher education by understanding the complex
relationship between the higher education and economic development. The project is not
attempting various aspects such as the evaluation of universities in the development of the
countries, assessment of the impacts of policies, examination of external donors in the
development of universities, and primary role of higher education in the development.
The universities conditions contribute towards the development of the economies by facilitating
higher education to the students in Ghana. The universities can also take participation in the
global knowledge economy and made a contribution in a sustainable manner if the core of

academics is qualitatively and quantitatively strong. The conditions of the universities in Africa
are contributing towards the development of the economy, and it is influenced by the following
three factors which are interrelated:
 The size, nature and continues academic core of the university.
 The nature of a pact between the political authorities, universities and the society.
 The impact of implications, the level of coordination and connectedness in the context of
the large policy of universities.
Research objective
1. To determine the current level of higher education in Ghana.
2. To inquire into "HERANA project" underway to provide accessible and affordable higher
education in Ghana.
3. To develop a case study of "HERANA project" objectives, process and current impact.
Aim of study
The aim of the research is to determine the impact of HERANA project on the affordability and
accessibility of higher education in Ghana.
Background and context of the study
The funding policies are ensured by the government in order to facilitate higher education in
Ghana. The HERANA project investigates the following conditions for harnessing higher
educations for the economic development:

1. The quality schooling and equitable is the two foundations on the basis of which higher
education system is built, so there was an emphasis on the higher quality of higher
education within the particular time period.
2. The participation rate in the education has been achieved.
3. The higher education is differentiated in order to achieve the human capital and objective
of innovation for the development of the economy.
The development of universities is one the current effort which is towards the higher education
in Ghana. There are various issues which are faced by the sector such as weak research and poor
innovation capacity due to which the government is unable to provide a high quality of education
in Ghana. The African Union Second decade of education plan has prioritized the higher
education in Africa in order to develop the country and the emphasis on the generation of
knowledge through regional integration, quality assurance, resource mobilization and others.
The African Union Commission views regional integration as the key element and intermediate
step towards the African countries integration into the global economy. It is mainly done to bring
convergence in the higher education system of Ghana which is diversely structured along the
colonial, geographical, structured lines and linguistic. The premium is used for the quality and
research in higher education. It is reflected in the organizations of regional universities, for
example, Southern Africa Regional Universities Association (Atuahene et al., 2013). The
Arusha Convention is implemented by the Pan African University which aims at the
harmonization of academic programs in order to enhance the quality assurance, compatibility,
recognition, and the transferability. The concept of development is not confined to the
macroeconomics forces of growth, but it also forces on the improvement of the individual and
human conditions improvements such as standard of living, equality, well-being and others.

Statement of the research problem
The purpose of the research study is to learn the importance of current efforts in providing the
affordable higher education in Ghana. The study was mainly designed with the following four
interrelated questions:
1. What is the current level of higher education in Ghana?
2. What are the efforts that provide accessible and affordable higher education in Ghana?
3. What is the current impact of the efforts on higher education?
The above research questions are designed in order to tie the central research questions by
guiding the overall study.
Definition of key terms and concepts
The objective of the study and subsidiary and central research questions guides the study. The
working definitions of the key terms and concepts are explained below:
Description of Higher education
In this report higher education includes a wide range of universities, technical colleges, and
vocational college among other formal institutions. The higher education is expanding with the
expansion of knowledge in the economy which promotes the social welfare and the progress of
the economy. According to the research, the higher education is one of the elements which drive
the high economic performance in OECD countries in the past few decades. The higher
education is influenced by the universities and research organizations which influence the
economic competitiveness of an individual in a global context (Smith et al., 2015). The higher

education is developed in Ghana through research and development activities in order to grow
the knowledge of people in Ghana.
Current Education system
The current education system in Ghana is characterized in principle by a binary structure in
which the universities are on the one hand, and polytechnics are on the other hand. The reforms
are introduced in the year 1987 after then the education system has sixteen structures in which
six years are of primary education, two or three years of secondary education, and four years for
higher education. In Ghana, there are more than twelve thousand primary schools, seven hundred
senior secondary schools, fifty-five hundred junior secondary schools, eighteen technical
institutions, twenty university colleges, ten polytechnics, three charted private universities and
six public universities.
Assumptions
The study assumes that the majority of respondents are between the ages of 25-30 years. The
study also assumes that the respondents are capable of responding regarding the current level of
higher education in Ghana.
Summary
The proposed study was based on the determination of the impact of funding policies on the
accessibility of higher education in Ghana. The research is done through a questionnaire, and the
respondents are university students in order to analyze the higher education system of the Ghana.
The objective of HERANA is to determine the complex relationship between the education
system and economic development which leads to acts as a current effort for the development of
higher education in Ghana. The purpose of the research is to analyze the impact of HASANA

project on the accessibility of higher education in Ghana. The funding policies literature review
is discussed in the paper and in the research methodology the research methods in explained after
that the data is analyzed based on the data collection of hundred respondents who were the
college students. So the data analysis is done after the data collection. Then on the basis of the
analysis, the conclusion has been made. The focus of the report is widely on the current efforts in
order to provide accessibility to higher education in Ghana. In the background and contextual
information, the economic development and the government policies with the financing for
higher education is explained.

Chapter-2
Literature Review
Introduction
This chapter talks about the theoretical framework and the conceptual background of the higher
education in Ghana. The purpose of this literature is to give a background to this present research
about inquiring into the efforts that are underway to provide accessible and affordable higher
education in Ghana. The literature will focus on the state of the higher education in Ghana and
the way it has developed over the past several years. Apart from this, the current efforts that are
being implemented to improve the condition of higher education in Ghana will also be discussed.
The funding of these efforts is another issue that Ghana faces, so that will be talked about in
minor details.
The condition of education in Ghana
It has been mentioned by (Avoke, 2001) that the educational system in Ghana is mainly informal
and the policies that are related to this system are mainly talking about the elite class that was
built by the European settlers. When the country gained independence, the objective of universal
education became popular, and it gained importance in the country. The indicators of education
in Ghana reflect the gender gaps and the disparities in the rural as well as the urban areas. Thus,
the action of the public gets driven against the literacy and the inequities while accessing the
education (Graham, 2013).

(Graham, 2013) further, explains that the education in Ghana is provided in three phases. One is
the basic education which is given a primary level, then is the secondary which is mainly the
vocational education and finally, the tertiary education comes in the picture which talks about the
education at higher levels like in universities and colleges. The literature presents a view on this
tertiary education and inquiries into the efforts that have been put in the country to help people in
attaining a good quality of higher education or the tertiary education.
The role of higher education in Ghana
According to (Kaiser, 2014), there exists a pact between the stakeholders at the national and the
institutional level and also among the external stakeholders like the foreign donors, etc. who
believes that for the sustained contribution to the development of Ghana, the higher education
plays a key role. Here, the meaning of pact is given by (Varghese, 2013) who says that a pact is
any commitment between the political authorities of country, the universities and the society
regarding the understanding of cultural, political and the socio-economic things and the pact lays
down the points for the expectation from the universities of Ghana, and the rules and regulations
that they must follow for improving the condition of education and for imparting higher
education in Ghana (Robb et al., 2014).
(Cloete, 2015) writes that the role of higher education in Ghana can be understood from the
perspective of national authorities as well as the institutional stakeholders who are at the
University of Ghana. (Cloete, 2015) further writes that from the national perspective, the higher
education will help in achieving the economic development of the country by contributing in the
Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) (2006‐2009) and the Ghana Vision 2020. In
the GPRS II, human resource development aims to ensure the development of the
knowledgeable, disciplined and well-trained labor force that have the capacity to drive and

sustain the growth which is led by the private sector. Under this strategy scheme, the growth will
be accelerated when the access and the participation in the education of people and their training
will be increased (Graham, 2013). Also, higher education enables the gap in the gender to
bridge, and people get access to the education in all districts. When this happens, the economic
development of the country rises. Also, the efficiency in the delivery of the educational services
will get improved. Finally, as per the perspective of national authorities, when the higher
education will get imparted in Ghana, the science and technology will be promoted which will
lead to innovation, cost savings and ultimately the development of the economy (Thorbecke,
2013).
Then, (Sampson, 2014) talks about the Ghana Vision 2020 where the main aim is to reduce the
level of poverty in the country, increase the average income of people, and reduce the income
disparities. This means that the vision is to develop the humans in Ghana and this can be
achieved when the higher education is imparted to people. With the higher education of good
quality, the rate of population will get reduced because people will become aware of the benefits
of nuclear families. This will make people more educated, and thus they will enter into medical
fields. This will help in reduction of the infant and child mortality, the food security will get
improved, and the health services will be accessible to all.
Thus, the higher education has a very important role to play in the development of Ghana, and
the government wishes to achieve all the improvements in the human development of the country
by imparting them higher education.

Efforts by government to provide accessible and affordable higher education
in Ghana
Education Strategic Plan
It is mentioned in (Singal, 2015) that the government of Ghana has made an education strategic
plan for 2003-2015 that aims to provide the relevant education to all the Ghanaians at all the
possible levels so that they can acquire the skills that will help them to develop their potential to
do the tasks, they will become more productive and the reduction in the level of poverty will be
facilitated. These will, in turn, help the country in promoting its socio-economic growth and
develop at the national level. It has been mentioned by (Botts, 2013) that this plan is an effort
towards the education sector with the following aims:
• Ensuring that the citizens of Ghana become functionally literate and they also become self-
reliant, no matter their age, tribe, religion, gender, etc.
• The plan also aims to give the basic education to all the people.
• To create the open education opportunity to all the people.
• To develop the skills in the field of education and training with special emphasis on the
science, technology, and creativity.
• Finally, it aims to extend the higher education for developing the middle and the top-level
requirements of the manpower.
According to (Nketsia, 2013), this plan basically tries to eliminate the four major areas of issue
in the education sector of Ghana. These areas of the issue include the inequitable access to
education to the people, the poor quality of education given to people of Ghana, the poor

management in the educational sector and lack of technical and the vocational education and
training in the country. Thus, this is a valid and essential effort that needs to be put in by the
government of Ghana for providing easy and accessible higher education to the people. This will
not only improve the issues areas but also lead to the development of humans in the country who
will then be able to contribute to the development of the country (Bloom et al., 2014).
National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
Ghana has a vision that it wants to become the middle-income country. For fulfilling this vision,
the country wants to fully apply and integrate the science, technology, and innovation into the
national development strategies so that the nation's science and technology capacity can be
harnessed and the aims of reducing poverty, making the enterprises competitive, managing the
environment sustainably and growing the industries can be achieved successfully (Amankwah-
Amoah, 2015).
The aims of this policy have been mentioned by (Bartels, 2014) which are as follows:
• Facilitating the way by which the scientific and technological capabilities can be
mastered.
• Providing a framework for the inter-institutional efforts that helps in the development of
science, technology, and other innovative programs in all the sections of the economy so that the
basic needs of the society can be served.
• Finally, this policy effort is aimed at creating the conditions that help in improving the
scientific and technological infrastructure for research and development and for innovation too.

To achieve the policy objectives, there are sectoral policies, programs, and strategies that are
being implemented but they are all linked to higher education. Though, the role of higher
education is less in this, but, this effort cannot be successful without that.
Role of higher education in Ghana can be understood from the perspective of
institutional stakeholders
At the beginning of this chapter, it is mentioned that role of higher education in Ghana can be
understood from the perspective of national authorities as well as the institutional stakeholders
who are at the University of Ghana. The above efforts were from the national authorities
perspectives. Now, the institutional stakeholders' perspective will be discussed.
As per (Atuahene, 2015), the narrative role of the institution at the university level is to develop
the world-class human resources and make them capable so that they can meet the national
development needs and they can meet the global challenges too. (Atuahene, 2015) further tells
that in Ghana, many of the issues related to poverty are caused due to lack of education. So, the
university tries to contribute to the well-being of the people and improve their quality of life.
This can be done when they are educated because institutional stakeholders believe that
education gives a basis to people that help them to use and apply their knowledge and hence
generate wealth for themselves. (Hayward, 2015) agrees to this and also believes that university
is not established to make people rich. Instead, it helps the people in getting themselves out of
poverty and generate wealth for them.
(Luescher-Mamashela, 2014) further, extends the role of the university in higher education. The
needs related to government requirements and the operating environments have been changed.
There have been several developments in the markets, competitive forces, and technology that

put increased emphasis on the capacity building of the human resources. The nation wants its
resources to get higher education in the country.
Efforts by university to provide accessible and affordable higher education in
Ghana
Initiatives around teaching and learning
(Malakolunthu, 2014) mentions that there were no specific institutional policies and structures
that linked the teaching with the learning of people and to the economic development of the
country. The universities made sure that the programs of teaching and the development of
curriculum is making people learn something. (Bovill, 2015) writes that this learning can be
measured when the concepts are applicable, when they are relatable and when they help people
in growing so that they can contribute towards the development of the nation. It is further
mentioned in the paper that the universities and the teachers are so involved in the students that
they make sure that the students can think about a topic and they can give their views on that.
This helps in developing their mental power. They start to reason, and thus they develop new
concepts on their own. According to the institutional stakeholders, the higher education in Ghana
is useful when the people are able to reason things, they are able to understand the things, and
they are able to develop new ways of doing work. Thus, (Buabeng-Andoh, 2015) writes that the
entire focus of these stakeholders is on making the students at the university level learn and
develop themselves. With this effort in practice, the people can attain higher education, and they
can also learn to apply that education towards the economic development of Ghana.
(Jull, 2014) has also given his views on this perspective. It is written in the research that even if
the teachers at the university level fails to make the students learn, they can just promote the

learning by helping them and by giving them the motivation to learn. This will enable the people
to handle the information in a proper way as they will get guidance from the teachers and they
will be able to develop their attitude, skills, and knowledge in the right direction. According to
(Bemile, 2014), this is indirect, but a very powerful effort by the institutional stakeholders. This
is because, when people get a higher education, they do not know how to apply it. So, they need
to be guided in the right direction so that the ill-effects or the wrong usage of that education can
be avoided.
The Higher Education and Economic Development project
(Cloete, Bailey, Pillay, 2011) has written an entire case study on the Higher Education and
Economic Development project that forms a part of work of the Higher Education Research and
Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). The writers have given an overview of HERANA.
Then they have described the focus of the project and its processes. They have also given an
analytical framework for the same. This current research is based on the work of these three
researchers and this case study that they have developed after immense research. Their research
is based on both the primary and the secondary data that they have collected.
The writers have mentioned that this effort aims to build an equitable foundation of the education
from the school level itself and provide the students with quality schooling. The high-quality
education is emphasized in this which can make people actually learn something and bring them
at an equitable level in the society (Sodjinou et al., 2014). Apart from this, this project also
emphasis in making the people achieves a higher education participation rates. If this happens,
the country will be able to link the economic development with the growth in education directly.

This case study has been developed by obtaining the data from a wide range of sources. The
researchers made a team that visited Ghana and met the vice-chancellor of UG. Also, they met
various professors of the universities in the country who told them about the present condition of
education in Ghana and also told them about the benefits of this effort which is being made by
the government of the country. Interview method has been used by the researchers to develop
this case study. The questions that they used were all standardized, and they asked the same set
of questions from all the people. But, in the present study, the questionnaire has been formulated
and is distributed to the various universities (Koehn et al., 2012). The interviews were not
conducted because this research could not be conducted in a wide way, the resources were
limited and also the time constraint was there. But, the questionnaire that has been made is very
much similar to the type of questions that had been used in interviews for this case study. So, the
case study by (Cloete, Bailey, Pillay, 2011) was of great help in the current research.
(Maassen, 2012) writes that HERANA is that one project that links the higher education with the
development of the country directly. The project focuses on providing the information to the
people of the country and will also establish the networks of information for the researchers as
well as the policy makers in Africa. Not only the links are developed, but the project makes sure
that these links get institutionalized. (Cloete, Bunting, Maassen, 2015) believes that this project
is a very serious effort towards the improvement of higher education in Ghana because it helps in
changing the attitudes of people towards democracy. The project is the first of its type that
establishes a planned link between research, advocacy and the data (Schreiber, 2015). It is
further stated in the research by (Schreiber, 2015) that with this project, a network of experts will
get built and they will be able to link each other with the international groups.

(Schreiber, 2015) has expressed his opinion regarding this project in a very beautiful manner. He
states in his paper that with the success of this effort, the OECD regions will be able to connect
themselves with the higher education and with the development in a successful way. This project
will also develop a framework for the country that will help in exploring the dynamics between
the national, institutional and the funders of this project. With this effort, the idea of the pact to
the notions of development can be linked at the two levels, the government level, and the
institutional level. There are eight universities in Africa, and this project will help in establishing
a working relation with them. This will happen when a senior collaborating person becomes
dedicated, and the effort will get institutionalized.
(Muller, 2010) states that the funding of the projects that the government initiates like the
HERANA project. The Ministry of Finance and the Economic Planning determines the public
funds for the organizations in the public sector. Along with this, there is a Ghana Education
Trust Fund (GET Fund) and the annual subvention provided by the government.
The political interventions show that the World Bank has moved away from Africa from basic
education to the exclusion of higher education in the year 1990. According to the World Bank
report, 2000 it is shown that there is a role of universities in the developing world (World Bank,
2000). According to the Commission of Africa, 2005 the universities have enabled the
development of the country and has targeted economic development. The higher education in
Arica has played a major role in the poverty reduction and sustainable development. The reports
have shown the concern related to the shortage of professors in the university which impacts on
the quality of education in Ghana. It is shown that the quality of teaching is impacted due to the
low pay in teaching which directly impacts on the level of education in Ghana. The higher
education is considered as the center of economic development contributes to the capacity of the

country towards the knowledge-based world economy. UNESCO has played a major role
towards the international higher education development, and it has hosted the first world
conference in the year 1998 in Paris. It represents 182 countries across the worldin which the
pre-conference report shows that there are various difficulties in order to provide higher
education in Ghana such as deterioration of teaching staff conditions, declining in the quality of
teaching, shortage of resources (Patten et al., 2016). The report has also shown reforms in order
to revitalize higher education in Ghana such as access to ICT, improvement in accessing higher
education by the women's, and strengthening of research capacity.
According to the Draft ESPR, 2012, there are total nine public universities, fifty-four private
universities, six public specialized, ten polytechnics, and one regional owned university which
support innovation in research institutions in order to contribute towards the development of
current education level in Ghana (Ott et al., 2015). According to the Global Innovation Index,
2012 research in the STI system of Ghana does not support development agenda in Ghana as per
the innovation in the year 2012. According to the ESPR, 2012 the students enrolled in the public
universities in the year 2011 were 185,268 and 32,275 in the private institutions within the same
year, and the third enrollment is represented by the ten public polytechnics in the eight public
universities (Zurlo et al., 2013).
HERANA (higher education research and advocacy network in Africa) is the main initiatives of
PHEA's in order to support higher education in Ghana, and it is coordinated by the center for
higher education transformation in Cape Town. There are various countries which s=are
participating in the HERANA project, namely, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda,
Tanzania, Ghana, Mauritius, and Botswana. There are main activities of HERANA project,

namely, research on higher education and development in Africa, advocacy and higher education
in Africa, and cross-national higher education performance indicators.
Financing of higher education in Ghana
According to the ESPR, 2012 the education sector performance report 2which shows that the
education in Ghana is mainly financed by the Ministry of education and 72% in the year 2008
and the GETFund has contributed 9.5% in the year 2008, internally generated funds has
contributed 9% in the year 2008 by the institutions and multinational as well as bilateral donors
has contributed 9.5% in the year 2008. In the year 2011 the education expenditure as a
percentage of Government of Ghana expenditure was approximately 25.8% which is the largest
government expenditure, but as the largest segment, it goes to the primary as well secondary
education (UNESCO, 2007).
Regulatory framework
According to the government white paper, 1991 there are the three regulatory agencies, namely,
the national council of tertiary education, national board for professional and technician
examination, and national accreditation board. NCTE is mainly responsible for the education on
the institution's development of tertiary education and to develop the policies (Gelman et al.,
2014).
Constraints limiting STI application in Ghana
According to the STI policy review, 2011 Ghana has made several investments in the field of
science and technology innovations, but these investments do not provide expected
improvements in the economic development. The government has also encouraged students to
studied science and technology and mathematics at the second cycle as well as tertiary levels.

The government has also distributed laptops to the students in order to empower the youth with
the technical equipment.
Educational achievements in Cuba and Finland
The education system of Cuba is highly ranked and according to the researchers it has the
strongest education system and it has high literacy rate as the government has taken various
educational initiatives in order to accessibility of higher education. According to the official data
ninety eight percent children’s are attending schools at the right age and repetition age were
approximately 9.1% in primary schools, 2.8% in secondary, and 1.8% in pre-university school.
There is a sustainable investment in education according to the UNESCO. It has consistent
policy environment which supports quality basic education and it has community of learning
teachers which provide high quality of teaching at low cost which directly contributes towards
the economic development of the country.
According to the OECD report, Finland has the effective educational strategy which enables to
achieve equality and excellence in education that is funded by the public fund. The country has
special education system and institutional efforts which provide high education at low cost that
can be afford by the people in Finland. The main funds are received from public funding and
high level of teaching enable to ensure educational opportunities for all. The structure of
educational system is main source which enable high quality of teaching in Finland. According
to the statistical data there is 100% literacy rate both in men’s as well as women’s (Aho et al.,
2006).

Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the literature in this area is immense and
very wide. Also, it is sufficient enough to understand the condition of education in Ghana, the
way it has been developed. The progress in the higher education sector in Ghana is
commendable, and it has been developed in the right way. There have been many efforts in this
area, and most of them have helped in the development of the educational sector in the country.
The HERANA project is one of the most successful efforts by the government of the country as
per the literature. To inquire further about it, the current research has been conducted, and the
methodology that has been adopted for that is given in the next chapter.
Chapter-3
Research Methodology
Research Objectives
The research has the following objectives:
1. To determine the current level of higher education in Ghana
2. To inquire into "HERANA project" underway to provide accessible and affordable higher
education in Ghana.
3. To develop a case study of "HERANA project" objectives, process and current impact.
These objectives have been formulated on the basis of the literature that had been reviewed
before starting this project by researching about all the current efforts that were going on in the

country for providing higher education to the people there. The research objectives describe that
what is the scope of the study of this project and what the current study aims to achieve.
In the present study, the current level of the higher education will be determined. This will be
done by finding out that whether the higher education is provided to the students or not, whether
they learn something or not, is there any gender or caste bias while providing the higher
education in Ghana, etc. then, from the many efforts that are underway in Ghana for proving and
improving the quality of higher education in Ghana, the HERANA project has been selected. So,
the research will inquire everything about this project, for example, what are its aims, what does
it wish to achieve, how it will get funded, etc. Finally, the project will develop a case study of all
the things that will inquire about this project. When the objectives are met, the research will
become successful in giving an insight to the readers about this project, many other countries
will be able to replicate this model, and the shortcomings of the project will be disclosed which
can further be covered.
Research Design
Nature if this dissertation is descriptive. In this, there are some questions related to the effort
which is being examined, and the study has helped in answering those questions. The questions
are: how the project developed, who started it, what are its objectives, where it got started etc.
Only the descriptive study is capable of answering these questions (Fraenkel, 1993). Here, the
descriptive nature of the research will help in explaining that what exists currently in the context
of the variables. This research design is applicable here because the research environment is
natural and it is not subject to any changes. When the true experiments are conducted like the
interviews and questionnaire distribution that normal behavior, if the people involved with the
project comes into the picture, and thus the data become eligible for analysis. Hence, the

research had to be descriptive because the data analysis is the main part of this project. The
research had to involve some of the quantitative measures that could be deployed with the
descriptive research.
Though the use of descriptive study did not help in getting the definite answers for the problems,
but the approval and disapproval of the hypothesis were possible here. The hypotheses were not
made in writing, but some of the assumptions were made in the mind while this study was taking
place and they were acting as barriers to the conduct of this study. Hence, the descriptive study
helped in removing those barriers.
The principle thought behind the use of descriptive study was that there were any people who
carried different attitude for the current effort towards the higher education in Ghana. But, the
descriptive study helped in capturing all those different attitudes. Also, a systematic method was
cried out by way of questionnaires and data collection that helped in inquiring about the current
effort towards higher education in Ghana and also in evaluating its impact on the people of the
country.
Research Framework and Methods
The research tries to inquire about the current effort in Ghana towards the higher education. To
make this study a success, a combination of few methods has been deployed that guided the flow
of research here.
The main research is based on the quantitative elements here. While evaluating the data
quantitatively, the measurements have been done in a quantitative manner. Then, the analysis
has been done on the basis of the responses to the questionnaires. The questionnaire had a set of
ten questions, and the paper was made to fill by 100 people. The people were present on the

social media platform, and they were from various professions and background. Most of them
were the professors at the various universities in Ghana and others were students. Some of them
included doctors, lawyers, and accountants too. They believed that they actually faced the
positive and the negative consequences of the quality of education in Ghana and thus they
responded to the questionnaires. The data that was collected from the responses was subject to
quantitative evaluation, and it was analyzed using the charts and bar graphs. This quantitative
method of data analysis made the research more worthy because, with the actual representation,
the analysis becomes easy to understand the presentation of the study improves (Creswell, 2007).
In the present study, the qualitative research also has a great role to play. The entire literature
that has been developed in this report has formed a base for this study, and it has given a path for
the current study to happen. May research papers, websites, and journals were studied to develop
the literature and to understand the educational sector of Ghana. There are three objectives of this
study but the first objective could be satisfied only by doing a qualitative or the secondary
research thecurrent condition of the educational sector can be understood when the existing
literature is reviewed and studied.
Sample
The sample was selected randomly from the number and type of people that were connected with
the project on the social media platform. The questionnaire had a set of ten questions, and the
paper was made to fill by 100 people. The people were present on the social media platform, and
they were from various professions and background. Most of them were the professors at the
various universities in Ghana and others were students. Some of them included doctors, lawyers,
and accountants too. They believed that they actually faced the positive and the negative
consequences of the quality of education in Ghana and thus they responded to the questionnaires.

Participants
Here, there were about 100 people who participated in the study, but they were not limited to any
particular geographical area in Ghana. The scope of the project is very wide because almost all
the people of Ghana are affected by the quality if higher education in the country. So, the
opinion and thoughts of all groups of people were important to capture. Involving the
participants with this study was an important thing to do, so they were continuously involved via
social media. This project was started on the social media platform so that more people can be
gathered while collecting the data and they have a background of the research too. When they
got connected in the social media, they started to give their views on this project which helped a
lot in formulating an opinion about this project. Also, it was easy to contact them while
distributing the questionnaires. The participants were from many professions, age groups like
there were professors, doctors, and students, etc. who participated in the study.
The selected people were picked when the questionnaires were being sent from the platform of
social media. But, those who filled and responded to the questions in the minimum time were
involved as participants in the study. The participants were all genuine and gave objective
answers to the questions that were being asked to them.
Methods of Data Generation
For collecting the data for the current inquiry, the questionnaires have been developed, and they
are based on the nominal scale where the respondents had to answer the questions in 'yes' or ‘no.'
This was the major tool for the collection of data in this report. A set of 10 questions were
included in the questionnaire, and it was made to fulfill the aims of the study. The data that was

collected from this questionnaire was then analyzed using bar graphs and charts. The
questionnaires helped in getting the first-hand information for this project.
Apart from this, many documents were compiled and studied to set a background for this study.
Various documents related to the research study were studied. These documents were related to
the background research of this topic, and they formed the basis of the required literature for the
current topic. The documents helped in satisfying one of the objectives of the study that was "To
determine the current condition of education in the country." For this, the previous documents
were studied and analyzed, and the legal framework was found from the documents only. The
documents not only helped in coming to some kind of conclusion, but it also helped in finding
the variables of study, establishing the objectives and finding the future scope of the study. The
context of the research was understood better when the documents were read as the documents
had captured the need and requirements of the study. The documents also helped in developing
the parameters like the objectives, respondents, etc. for conducting the quantitative study
(Silverman et al., 2016).
Analysis of Data
The data was analyzed with the help of bar graphs that were made in the MS Excel software.
They represented the data which was collected with the help of questionnaires. The calculations
were done on the data, and the functions of the MS Excel software were applied to the research
like ‘if,' ‘count if' and ‘%' etc.
Limitations of the study
The study could have been much better if the following limitations did not come its way:

 The scope of the research was very wide, and it was applicable to use all over Africa. So,
as per the scope and the breadth of the project, the number of participants that were
involved was a bit less in number. The opinions of more people could have been
collected but the time constraint and the lack of contacts did not allow doing that. The
impact of the good quality or poor quality of higher education is faced by many people so
they all should have been captured in this study. But the limited sample size did not allow
this to happen.
 The literature suggested that interviews with the higher educational authorities' personnel
could make this project a million worth reading. But, they could not be contacted, and the
participants who were responding on the social media platform were involved in the
study. So, there was no personal contact with them, they could not be met face to face,
and their expressions and non-verbal communication did not help in verifying their
responses to the questionnaires. Also, the opportunity for the researcher to explain them
the questions and clear their doubts could not happen.
 Some of the respondents answered the questions immediately and some of them too a
very long time. The time gap could be due to the fact that some of them did not bother to
understand the questions and they immediately responded what they felt, and others were
very confused about the questions, so they took a longer time to respond. Due to this
difference in the time, it is very difficult to judge the validity of their responses.

Chapter-5
Results and Findings
The data analysis is defined as the process of transforming, cleansing and modeling of data with the aim
of discovering the useful information in order to make the conclusion. The data analysis is mainly
considered as the analysis of data which is used to convert the raw data into useful information. The
questionnaire is defined as the set of questions which is used to survey and gather information from the
respondents.
The questionnaire is used for conducting the research among the university students, and the sample size
of the survey is hundred who have experienced the higher education, so they are capable of answering the
questions which are asked in the survey. The questions are asked in context to determine the viewpoint of
students regarding the contribution of higher studies in Ghana.
1. What is your highest qualification?
Graduates Post graduates
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Series1
Qualificatio In %

n
Graduates 65
Postgraduates 15
It is founded that the sixty-five percent of the students out of hundred university students are graduates
and only twenty-five present students are postgraduates in different streams. It shows that the
undergraduates are higher than the post graduate students in Ghana.
2. Are you satisfied with the current level of the education system in Ghana?
Satisfeied Unsatisfied
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Series1
Level of
satisfaction In %
Satisfied 23
Unsatisfied 77

It is found that the satisfaction level of college students from the current education system is only twenty-
three percent which shows that the education system needs many amendments which help to improve the
current education system for higher education in Ghana. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents are not
satisfied with the current education system in Ghana.
The education system of Ghana has since undergone over the past two decades despite many policies and
improvement in the infrastructure still the education system needs major improvements in Ghana.
3. Do you aware about the facilities provided by the government for the higher education?
Aware Not aware
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Series1
Awareness In %
Aware 26%
Not aware 74%
It is found in the study that only twenty-six percent students are aware regarding the facilities provided by
the government for facilitating higher education for the students. Seventy-four percent of the students are
unaware regarding the facilities provided by the government. It shows that there is higher unawareness
regarding the government facilities which needs to be increased in order to increase the percentage of
higher education in Ghana.

Are you able to get the benefits from the government regarding the higher education?
Yes No Not sure
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Series1
Factors Percentage
Yes 22%
No 63%
Some time 15%
It is found in the study that only twenty-two percent of the respondents are getting benefits from the
government policies. Sixty-three percent of the respondents are not getting benefits from the government
policies. Fifteen percent of the respondents are getting benefits sometimes from the government t policies.
The majority of the respondents are not getting any benefits from the government policies which shows
that the government policies needs to be improved in order to provide benefits to the students.
Did you feel any improvement in the higher education in the past five years?

Gotten better Gotten worse Stayed about
the same Not sure
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Series1
Respond In %
Gotten better 34
Gotten worse 29
Stayed about the same 36
Not sure 1
It is found in the study that thirty-four percent of the respondents think that the education system is
improved in the past five years. Twenty-nine percent of the respondents think that the education system
has gotten worse in the past five years. Thirty-six percent of the respondents think that the education
system remains same in the past five years and there is no improvement in the education system. One
percent of the respondents are not sure regarding the condition of the education system in Ghana.
6. Is the university provides all the facilities which are mandatory from the government?

Yes No Not sure
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Series1
Factors Percentage
Yes 24%
No 66%
Not sure 10%
It is found in the study that only twenty-four percent of the respondents think that the university is
providing all the mandatory facilities to the students. Sixty-six percent of the respondents feel that all the
mandatory facilities are not provided by the universities. Ten percent of the respondents are not sure
whether the university is providing all the mandatory benefits or not. The majority of the respondents
states that the all the mandatory facilities are not provided by the universities to the students.
7. Did the higher education is affordable and accessible for you in Ghana?

Yes No Not sure
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Series1
Factors In %
Yes 15
No 80
Not sure 5
It is found in the study that only fifteen percent of the respondents are able to afford higher education in
Ghana. The higher education includes post-graduation, Ph.D. and other doctoral degrees. The eighty
percent of the respondents are not able to afford and access the higher education in Ghana. Five percent of
the students are not sure about the affordability of higher education. The majority of students is not able
to access and afford the higher education which shows that the condition of the economy is weak.
8. What are the programs do you think that relates the employer to the students?

Internship Funding Seminars Collaboration
between faculty
and company
staff
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Series1
Factors In %
Internship 63
Funding 15
Seminars 14
Collaboration between faculty and company staff 8
It is found in the study that the sixty-three percent of the respondents thinks that the internship connects
the employer to the students. Fifteen percent of the respondents thinks that the seminars program helps to
connect the students with the employers who enable to get the job opportunities through connecting with
the employers.
9. Did you think the college degree is still important for the job opportunities?
Using the five-point scale, how strongly do you think the following?
College degree is important for the availability of job options in your country_____
College degree limits the potential of income in your country ____

Agree Disagree Strongly agree
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
College degree is
important for the
availability of job options
in your country
College degree limits the
potential of income in your
country
Agree
Disagre
e
Strongly
agree
College degree is important for the availability of
job options in your country 25 12 64
College degree limits the potential of income in
your country 20 20 60
It is founded on the study that sixty-four percent of the respondents strongly agree that the college degree
is important for the availability of job options in Ghana. Twenty-five percent of the respondent agrees that
the college degree is important for the availability of job options. Twelve percent of the respondents
disagree that the college degree is not important for the job options. Disagree respondents are those who
believes that the family business does not require job degree.
Sixty percent of the respondents are strongly agreed that the college degree limits the potential of income
in Ghana. Twenty percent of the respondents agree that the college degree limits the potential of income

in Ghana. Twenty percent of the respondent thinks that the college degree does not limit the potential of
income in Ghana.
10. Are you able to get practical experience from the universities link with private companies?
Yes No Not sure
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Series1
Response in %
Yes 38
No 52
Not sure 10
It is found in the study that thirty-eight percent of the respondents are getting practical experience from
the link between the colleges and private companies. Fifty-two percent of the respondents are not able to
get the practical experience which is the major challenges for the students and colleges. Ten percent of
the students are not sure with the response regarding the gaining of practical knowledge from the college.
11. What are the three major problems in the current education system?

Quality of
teaching Facilities Funding Outdated
technology Lack of
parental
involvement
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Series1
Factors in %
Quality of teaching 60
Facilities 38
Funding 32
Outdated technology 30
Lack of parental involvement 23
It is founded on the study that sixty percent of the respondent thinks that quality of teaching is one of the
problems in the current education system. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents think that the facilities
are one of the problems in current education. Thirty-two percent of the problem thinks that the funding is
one of the problems in the current education system. Thirty percent of the respondent thinks that the
outdated technology is one of the problems in the current education system. Twenty-three percent of the
respondents think that the lack of parent involvement is one of the major problems in the current
education system. The majority of the respondents thinks that the quality of teaching is the biggest

problem in current education system due to which the students are not able to get high quality of
education.
12. How do you rate the quality of education?
Excellent Good Poor Not sure
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Series1
Rating in %
Excellent 8%
Good 45%
Poor 40%
Not sure 7%
In the study, it is found that the eight percent of the respondents thinks that the quality of current
education system in excellent in Ghana. Forty-five percent of the respondents think that the quality of
current education system is good. Forty percent of the respondent thinks that the quality of current
education system is poor. Seven percent of the respondents are not sure about the current education
system in Ghana. The majority of the students think that the current education system is average.

13. How would you rate the innovation in the education system?
Gotten
better Gotten
worse Stayed
about the
same
Not sure
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Series1
Ratings In %
5 1
4 11
3 35
2 36
1 16
Not sure 1
It is founded on the study that out of the one to five rate scale total sixteen percent respondents rate one to
the innovation in the educational system. Thirty-six percent of the respondent's rate two for the
innovation. Thirty-five percent of the respondent's rate three for the innovation in teaching system. Eleven
percent of the respondent's rate four for the innovation in teaching system. One percent of the
respondent's rate five for the innovation in teaching system and one percent of the respondents are not

sure about the innovation in teaching system. The majority of respondents think that there is no extreme
innovation in the education system as the rating is majorly two out of five point scale.
14. Did you think teaching in your country is treated with dignity and respect?
Yes No Not sure
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Series1
Response in %
Yes 26
No 59
Not sure 15
It is founded on the study that twenty percent of the respondent thinks that the teachers in Ghana are
related with respect and dignity. Fifty-nine percent of the students think that the teachers are not treated
with the dignity and respondent which is reflected from the teacher and parents relations within the
particular region. Fifteen percent of the respondents are not sure reading the respect and dignity given to
the teachers in Ghana.
15. What are the three successful strategies for retaining the high quality of teaching?

High salaries Performance
based Better
technology More
professional
development
opportunity
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Series1
High salaries 60
Performance based 36
Better technology 40
More professional development opportunity 34
It is found in the study that the sixty percent of the respondents considered high salaries as the phone of
the strategy for retaining the high quality of teaching. Thirty-six percent of the respondents considered
performance based bonus and salaries as one of the strategies for retaining the high quality of teaching.
Forty percent of the respondents considered better technology as one of the strategies for retaining the
high quality of teaching because the technology helps to make a better understanding of concepts which
enables to retain the high quality of teaching. Thirty-four percent of the respondents considered more
professional development opportunity as one of the strategies for retaining the high quality of teaching.
Data analysis
From the above data interpretations, following data analysis has been made:

1. The highest qualification of the respondents is majorly graduates who show that the people of
Ghana are not able to pursue higher qualification due to various reasons such as availability of
funding, facilities, quality of teaching and others. The funding is one of the factors due to which
the higher qualification rate in Ghana is low.
2. The current education system is facing various problems such as outdated technology, quality of
teaching, poor facilities and others. Despite various policies initiatives and laws in education
sectors such as The Ghana Education Trust Fund 2000, Ghana Education Reform 2008, The
Capitation Grant and School Feeding Programme and others the current education system is not
effective due to which the system is not able to satisfy the respondents and natives of Ghana.
3. The awareness regarding the government initiatives and policies among the people in Ghana is
low due to which the people are not able to access the opportunities for pursuing higher education
in Ghana. The government should create awareness regarding the policies and initiatives which
help to provide benefits to the people of Ghana.
4. The benefits from the government initiatives are received by very people who show that the
government policies are ineffective due to which more initiatives are required from the
government in order to provide accessibility of higher education in Ghana.
5. In the past five years, the majority of respondents states that the current education system is same
in Ghana and there is no improvement in the education system which shows that the initiatives
are required in order to improve the current education system.
6. The majority of the respondents state that the universities are unable to provide the mandatory
facilities to the students due to which the students are not able to get the quality of higher
education in Ghana.
7. The majority of people in Ghana are unable to access the higher education in Ghana because of
various reasons such as facilities, poverty, insufficient funds and others. The funding is one of the
major problems due to which the higher education is not affordable by the people in Ghana. But

the initiatives of funding and support by the government have transformed the current education
system of Ghana.
8. The various programs such as the internship, seminars, and others help to connect the students
with the employer which enable to get the employment opportunities in Ghana. The majority of
respondents state that the internship helps to connect and build a relationship between the
students and employers. The universities should also provide theopportunity for various programs
which enable to provide the career opportunities to the students.
9. The majority of respondents state that the college degree is still important for getting the job
opportunities which shows that the accessibility and affordability of higher education are required
in Ghana which enables to develop the economy in an appropriate manner. The sixty percent of
the respondents are strongly agreed that the college degree limits the potential of income in
Ghana which shows that the accessibility of higher education in Ghana is very important in order
to improve the standard of living of an individual in Ghana.
10. The majority of respondents are not able to get the job opportunities from the current education
system which shows that the government policies are not very much ineffective to eradicate the
poverty in Ghana.
11. The current education system has various challenges such as quality of teaching, facilities,
funding, outdated technology and lack of parental involvement. The majority of respondents state
that the quality of teaching is the biggest challenges for the current education system due to
which the system is unable to provide higher education in an effective manner. The quality of
teaching can be improved through investing in teaching and methods of teachings which enable
to provide higher education to the people of Ghana.
12. According to the survey the majority of respondents states that the quality of current education
system is average and forty-five percent of the respondents states that the current education
system is good and forty percent of the respondents states that the current education system is

poor which shows that the education system needs to be improved through innovative methods of
teaching in order to improve the quality of current education system.
13. The majority of respondents states that the innovation in the current education system is
improved which is due to initiatives taken by the government, but the overall rating of the
innovation in the current education system is two which shows much innovation is required in
order to transform the education system in Ghana.
14. According to the survey, the majority of respondent states that the teaching is not treated with
dignity and respect due to which there is less contribution towards the improvement of the
teaching profession. The teaching must be treated with dignity and respect in order to improve the
quality of current education system.
15. The high quality of teaching can be retained from various strategies such as high salary, better
technology, performance-based pay and more opportunities for professional development.
According to the survey, sixty percent of the respondents state that the high salaries are one of the
strategies in order to retain the high quality of teaching. The second strategy is better technology
which is chosen by the sixty percent respondents.
Summary
From the above analysis it can be summarized that the total respondents are hundred in which the
majority of respondents are graduates, and only fifteen percent of the respondents are post graduates
which show that the accessibility of higher education in Ghana is difficult due to various problems such
as unavailability of proper facilities, insufficient funds, and others . The awareness among the people in
Ghana regarding the financial policies and initiatives by the government is very poor due to which the
people are not able to access higher education in Ghana. The teaching is not highly treated with the
dignity and respect due to which the current education system is ineffective so the investment must be
made by the government in teaching in order to retain the quality of teaching. According to the survey,
the college degree is considered as one of the most important element in order to provide the job

opportunities and potential of income. The quality of teaching is one of the factors which are the main
problem in the current education system. The technology is another element which plays an important
role in improving the current education system. The innovation in current education system according to
the respondents is two which needs to be improved in order to provide accessibility and affordability of
higher education in Ghana. The various policies such as Ghana Education Trust Fund 2000, Ghana
Education Reform 2008, The Capitation Grant and School Feeding Programme and other in order to
provide accessibility and affordability of higher education in Ghana. According to the survey majority of
respondent’s states that the current education system remains the same but the thirty-four percent of the
respondents states that the education system in Ghana is improved over the past five years. The majority
of respondents are not satisfied with the current education system due to which the major innovative
methods are required in order to improve the education system. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents
state that they are able to get the practical experience by the connection between the universities and
private companies. The major problem in the current education system is the quality of teaching which
needs to be improved in order to provide accessibility and affordability to the people in Ghana.
Chapter-5
Recommendation
From the above analysis it following recommendations has been made:
1. The government should improve the current education system through applying the innovative
teaching methods which help to improve the quality of teaching in a most efficient and effective
manner and it clear the understanding of the topic in the mind of students.

2. The universities must provide the practical training such as an internship, industrial training, and
others which enable to improve the practical knowledge of students and it provides the
opportunity to explore the career.
3. The government should develop the strategic plans in order to improve the current education
system, and the effective initiatives are required in order to provide the facilities for educating the
people in Ghana.
4. The government should create awareness among the people in Ghana regarding the benefits
provide by the government in order to provide the support for educating the people.
5. The improvement in the current education can be made through investing in the teaching in order
to provide respect and dignity to the teaching profession.
6. The innovation is required in the current education system in order to improve the understanding
of concepts through innovative teaching methods such as smart classes, online teaching, and
others.
7. The government should start new initiatives in order to improve the current education system
which directly contributes towards the development of the country.
8. The universities should establish the good relationship with the private companies in order to
provide the career opportunities to the students which help to provide the employment
opportunities to the students.
9. The government should contribute in the current education system in order to enhance the
transparency and accountability in the system.
10. The government should encourage the people towards the higher education in order to support the
development of the economy.
11. The government should provide more facilities for higher education by establishing more
institutions for higher education which gives ease in accessing higher education in Ghana.
12. The government should provide free higher education in order to provide accessibility and
affordability of higher education to the people of Ghana.

13. The regular fee structure revision must be done by the public and private higher education sector
which enables to charge a rational fee that can be afforded by a large number of students in
Ghana.
14. The colleges and universities must promote the colleges in order to attract a large number of
stakeholders which provides funding to the colleges.
15. The universities must change the syllabus and modified it with the regular interval in order to
enhance the knowledge of students in Ghana.
Overview of the study
The current education system of Ghana is very poor, and there are various challenges which are faced by
the students such as retaining of teachers staff in the universities and colleges because of that the quality
of teaching in Ghana is ineffective. The quality of teaching in the current education system is the major
problem which needs to be resolved in order to provide accessibility and affordability of higher education
in Ghana. The government should invest in the teaching profession by providing training to the teachers
in order to improve the teaching skills of the students, and the teachers' pay should beimproved in order to
retain the quality of teaching in Ghana. According to the survey, the higher pay is one of the strategies
which can be used to provide the high quality of teaching in Ghana. The innovation is required in the
teaching methods in order to improve the current education system in Ghana. According to the survey, the
innovation in the current education system is rated two, so the government should take initiatives in order
to innovate the current education system which facilitates the accessibility of higher education in Ghana.
The various facilities such as laboratory, libraries and other facilities must be provided by the universities
in order to attract a large number of students for higher education. The syllabus must be modified
according to the current situation of the economy in order to improve the knowledge of students because
another problem in the current education system is outdated syllabus due to which students are not
interested in higher studies.

Implications
According to the survey, the current education system needs major development in order to provide
quality of teaching and accessibility of higher education in Ghana. The government must invest in the
teaching profession because teaching staff does not retain for the long term due to which the quality of
teaching is affected. Secondly, the syllabus needs to be modified at the regular intervals in order to
provide the high quality of teaching. The innovation in the current education system is required in order
to attract a large number of stakeholders which provide funding to the universities and colleges. The
government should also start creating awareness among the people in Ghana regarding the benefits in
order to attract a large number of students for higher education. The government should provide
accessibility of higher education in more colleges in order to encourage the students for higher education.
The accessibility of higher education in Ghana directly contributes towards the economic development of
the country by providing career opportunities to the students. The fee structure must be regularly
modified which provides the affordability of higher education in Ghana. The universities must build the
good relationship with the companies in order to provide the practical experience to the students. The
university leaders must jointly support the universities in providing higher education facilities to the
people in Ghana.
Recommendations for practice
Following are the recommendations for practice which is suggested on the basis of results and finding:
 The alumni must be conducted by the colleges and universities in order to build the relationship
with the private companies.
 The initiatives must be taken by the government in order to create awareness regarding the
benefits among the people in Ghana.
 The universities must revise the syllabus in order to enhance the knowledge of students up to
date.

 The universities must promote it in order to attract a large number of stakeholders which helps in
funding rising of universities.
 The role of higher education council must be strengthened in order to enhance the availability of
higher education in a most efficient and effective manner.
 The workers of the tertiary education strikes due to unpaid salaries and payment which force the
teachers to the left the jobs.
 The direct, detailed information of the workers is not obtained by the Ministry of education due to
which the quality of teaching is not delivered to the students so the government should establish
electronic information system in order to access the detailed information of the workers.
 The government should design the policy in which the revenue generated from the oil sector that
will be invested in the higher education sector which enables to resolve the problem of funding.
 The cost sharing and cost recovery strategy must be amended by the government in which the
tuition fee is paid by the students according to their income which helps to provide accessibility
and affordability of higher education in Ghana.
 The government should develop in order to provide the sustainable financial system in providing
funding facilities to the colleges and universities.
 The strong networking must be established by the universities and colleges in order to provide the
career opportunities and practical experience which enable to earn the income that directly
contributes to the development of the economy in a most efficient and effective manner.
 The funding allocation must be done by the various departments in order to provide a large
amount of funding the universities.
Recommendations for future research
The recommendations for another study could be conducted on the factors which are preventing the
government from investing in the sector of higher education and the exploring of interest can be done in
order to switch the interest of the government towards the higher investment in the higher education

sector because the interest of the government is to build the economy and to work towards the welfare of
the citizens. Another study can also be conducted towards the recovery of cost from the public in the
sector of higher education which does not include the intervention of government.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the analysis that the current education system of Ghana is facing various
challenges such as quality of teaching, retaining workers, funding, and others. The ministry of education
is working towards the accessibility and affordability of higher education in Ghana. The government is
providing funding, free education, facilities in order to provide the higher education in Ghana. The quality
of teaching is the major challenge in the current education system so the government should invest in the
teaching profession in order to improve the current education system and retain the teachers for a long
term. The universities should starts marketing in order to attract a large number of stakeholders which
resolve the problem of funding. According to the survey, the outdated technology is another problem in
the current education system so the innovative methods of teaching must be used in order to improve the
quality of teaching. The people in Ghana are not highly aware of the benefits provided by the government
for higher education so the government should take initiatives in order to develop the awareness which
encourages the people in Ghana for higher education. The current efforts of the government include the
strategic plan, free educational programs, funding, rebates, infrastructure development and others. The
government is workingtowards the transformation of the education system, and it has changed to an
extent, but the more effective strategies are required in order to provide accessibility and affordability of
higher education in Ghana. The government is applying poverty reduction strategy in order to eradicate
the poverty in Ghana, and the current efforts are directly contributing towards the development of Ghana.
The study has determined that the objective of HERANA project is to improve the higher education
system in Ghana through linking the higher education system of Africa with other international groups.
The government has also implemented a national policy which higher education in Ghana that is

integrated with the economic growth of the country. There are multiple funding sources in Ghana which
enable to provide higher education system in Ghana. The planned and systematic review system is
developed by the government in order to improve the performance of institutions in Ghana. However, t is
shown from the previous study that there are various problems which are faced in the current education
system of Ghana such as concern of quality, funding, institution capabilities, poor research work, and
others that restrict to improve the current education system in Ghana. The role of higher education in
Ghana is significant in order to improve the current level of education in Ghana. There are various efforts
by the government in order to improve the current level of education such as the implementation of
education strategic plan, developing of open education opportunities, various measures in order to
improve four main issues in the current education system of Ghana, and others. The government has also
developed various policies such as national science, technology and innovation policy which enable to
improve the scientific and technological infrastructure of Ghana. There are various efforts which are
taken by the university in order to provide affordable and accessible higher education in Ghana such as
teaching and learning initiatives which help to improve the quality of education system in Ghana. The
research nature is descriptive and quantitative research method is used in order to determine that the
current level of efforts from HERANA project and the data analysis shows that the HERANA project is
working towards the improvement of current education system in Ghana, but it shows that major efforts
are still required in order to improve the affordability and accessibility of current higher education system
in Ghana. The government needs to work towards the awareness development among the citizen in
Ghana for higher education which enables to increase the higher education rate in Ghana that directly
contributes towards the economic development within the specific period of time. The salary is the major
constraint for the teachers in Ghana as they are getting low salaries which restrict them to enter into the
teaching industry and it also impacts on the quality of education in Ghana which does not provide core
competencies to the students in order to challenge international studies. That directly impacts on the
employment rate of the country.

Appendix
Appendix: 1
Questionnaire
1. What is your higher qualification?
Under graduate___ post graduate____
2. Are you satisfied with the current level of the education system?
Yes_____ No____
3. Do you aware about the facilities provided by the government for higher education?
Yes__ No___
4. Are you able to get the benefits from the government regarding the facilitation of higher
education?
Yes__ No__
5. Did you feel any improvement in the higher education in the past five years?
Gotten better
Gotten worse
Stayed about the same
Not sure
6. Is the university provides all the facilities which are mandatory from the government?
Yes__ No__ Not sure__
7. Did the higher education is affordable and accessible for you in Ghana?
Yes__ No__ Not sure_____

8. What are the programs do you think that relates the employer to the students?
Factors
Internship
Funding
Seminars
Collaboration between faculty and company staff
9. Did you think the college degree is still important for the job opportunities?
Using the five-point scale, how strongly do you think the following?
College degree is important for the availability of job options in your country_____
Agree _____ Disagree_____ Strongly agree_______
College degree limits the potential of income in your country ____
Agree _____ Disagree_____ Strongly agree_______
10. Are you able to get practical experience from the universities link with private companies?
11. What are the three major problems in the current education system?
1. The quality of teaching 2. Facilities 3. Funding 4. Outdated technology 5. Lack of
parental involvement
12. How do you rate the quality of education?
1. Excellent 2. Good 3. Poor 4. Not sure
13. How would you rate the innovation in the education system?
1. Five 2. Four 3. Three 4. Two 5. One
14. Do you think teaching in your country is treated with dignity and respect?
Yes__ No __
15. What is the most three successful strategy for retaining the high quality of teaching?

High salaries_ Performance based_ Better technology_ more professional development
opportunities_
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