Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has bemoaned that Ghana’s universities are merely training students mainly to seek employment.
The NDC National Chairman highlighted that Ghana needs a reorientation of its educational system to emphasise innovation and entrepreneurship.
According to Asiedu Nketiah, innovation and entrepreneurship are the ways Ghana can address its growing youth unemployment.
Speaking during the launch of the Volta Youth Development Fund in Ho on Saturday, March 7, cited that in many developed countries, universities focus on researching societal problems and developing solutions that contribute to economic growth.
Asiedu Nketiah stated, “In many developed countries, universities research societal problems and develop solutions that contribute to economic growth, but here most of our universities are training students mainly to seek employment”.
“It is simply not possible for any government to employ all graduates coming out of our universities. Somebody must begin to create jobs and employment opportunities so that others can also be employed,” he said.
“Economies grow when people identify problems affecting society and convert solutions into sources of income,” he said.
In related news, the member of parliament for Nhyiaso, Dr Stephen Amoah, has urged the John Mahama government to introduce entrepreneurship as a core subject in the Junior High School (SHS) and Senior High Schools.
Stephen Amoah argued that early entrepreneurial training can help address graduate unemployment by encouraging job creation.
According to Stephen Amoah, embedding entrepreneurship into the academic curriculum would help cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset at an early stage, equipping students not only to seek employment but to create sustainable jobs for themselves and others.
Hon. Dr Stephen Amoah further stressed that such a reform represents a practical and long-term strategy to address Ghana’s rising graduate unemployment challenge.
The MP argued that education must evolve to meet current economic realities.
The proposal has reignited conversations about curriculum reform and the role of education in national development.
Meanwhile, Mussa Dankwah, the Global InfoAnalytics Executive Director, has disclosed that Ghana’s economy is no longer the number one issue for voters.
According to Mussa Dankwah, Jobs have replace economy as voters’ top concern when he speaks to voters.
He noted that before the 2024 election, the three things that bothered voters were the economy, jobs, and education, adding that voters’ priorities have shifted.
Mussa Dankwah further stressed that he expects the NDC government to create jobs.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show on January 6, Mussa Dankwah disclosed, “I expect them to create jobs; if you speak to voters today, the economy is no longer a threat to them. The economy is no longer the number one issue for them. It suggests that they are okay with the economy.”
“The issue is job creation. If you look at the last election, before the election, the three top issues that bothered voters were the economy, jobs, and education.”
He added, “On points one and three, which were the top three issues, they are having success in doing that. But the problem they have is job creation, which is the biggest threat. We’ve been told that it’s a national security threat for many years. It still remains. A chunk of the youth have no job.”
“Whatever the government needs to take to create jobs, the environment that will create jobs, they have to. There’s no excuse for them. The people will be disappointed, but in the second year, if nothing happens, I can tell them for a fact.”