Former Minister of Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has called for a comprehensive review of some university programmes in Ghana, arguing that many graduates are leaving tertiary institutions without the skills and qualifications required by the labour market.

According to him, unless higher education is deliberately aligned with the country's manpower requirements, graduate unemployment will continue to rise despite increasing access to tertiary education.

Speaking on the Konnected Minds Podcast, Dr Adutwum criticised what he described as the growing mismatch between academic programmes and the needs of the economy, insisting that universities should train graduates for clearly identified employment opportunities rather than simply increasing enrolment.

He said institutions should base admissions and programme offerings on national labour market assessments.

"You have done labour needs assessment of your country. You know that the country needs more engineers; they need more medical, they need more nurses," he said. "If you don't have a labour needs assessment that you are following, then what it means is that you are just educating everyone."

Questions relevance of some programmes

The former Education Minister singled out programmes such as Development Studies at the University for Development Studies (UDS) and BA Education (Non-Teaching) at the University of Ghana, arguing that they offer limited employment prospects for graduates.

He recalled raising concerns about some of the programmes while serving as Minister of Education, particularly during an address at the annual New Year School.

"When I was the minister, I challenged universities about that. I remember going to the New Year School, and I spoke about how we do not need anybody to offer courses called 'Development Studies' to study development. No, and it was being offered at UDS," he said.

Dr Adutwum disclosed that following those remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of UDS contacted him to report that one student had withdrawn from the programme.

"I said it's good for him, it's good for him, it's good for him because you know and I know that that course is not taking the student anywhere," he said.

He also questioned the relevance of another programme offered by some institutions.

"They have courses called Development Education. It doesn't qualify the student to teach, and I don't know what industry or what company is going to employ students who have done Development Education."

'Degree to nowhere'

Turning his attention to the BA Education (Non-Teaching) programme at the University of Ghana, Dr Adutwum said many graduates complete their mandatory national service only to discover there are few employment opportunities related to their qualifications.

"They come and do their national service, and after national service, they are frustrated because nobody is hiring them. So, a university degree to nowhere," he said.

He alleged that some universities continue to admit students into programmes with weak employment prospects primarily because they generate revenue for the institutions.

"They are just filling up the spaces because they are coming and they are paying money to come, and the universities like it," he said.

Role of GTEC

Dr Adutwum urged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to take a stronger regulatory role by ensuring that academic programmes are aligned with the country's workforce requirements and long-term development agenda.

He cited India's information technology sector as an example of how strategic educational planning can produce graduates whose skills are demanded both locally and internationally.

According to him, Ghana has several sectors capable of absorbing highly skilled graduates if universities tailor their programmes to national priorities.

"The police service needs them, the military needs them, and so many companies. In case Ghanaian companies don't need them, companies abroad need them, and they will stay in Ghana and work for those," he said.

Education for employment

The former minister maintained that addressing graduate unemployment requires a fundamental rethink of the country's tertiary education system, with greater emphasis on employability, innovation, science, technology, engineering and other market-driven disciplines.

"If you don't revamp the whole education system and do education to somewhere and not education to nowhere, you cannot confront and solve your graduate unemployment problem," he added.

Graduate unemployment has remained a major policy concern in Ghana, with education experts and employers frequently calling for stronger collaboration between universities, industry and government to ensure that graduates possess skills that match evolving labour market demands.