Education consultant urges Ghana to tap into ‘brain export’

An education consultant, Dr Henry Godson Afful, has advised the government to work with private institutions to help mitigate the recurring large numbers of applicants being denied admissions into institutions of higher education in Ghana.

He believes a partnership between the government and private institutions will produce professionals that will compete adequately in today’s global stage.

He made this known in a phone interview, stressing that the country can train a lot more professionals and export them as human capital.

Dr Afful, who is also a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ believes the government can have a strong policy to sponsor students abroad to study and get returns in the form of taxes on their salaries within a specific time.

Citing the recent mass failure and agitation by some law students who protested against their results alongside their eligibility for admission into the Ghana Law School, he blamed it on lack of adequate resources capable of providing the needed skills and knowledge.

“We are turning students away unfortunately in this country who have the grades and who have the know-how and are cut out to be able to do medicine but we’re not able to admit them into the universities. 

“Not because they’re not good enough but because we haven’t got enough resources,” the UK-based consultant stated.

According to him, the government can gain a lot from the many Ghanaians who have excelled outside the borders of the country.

He is of the view that ensuring a strong educational, tertiary institution and private sector cooperation to facilitate this policy will yield dozens of benefits.

“If we’re able to do this, I’m sure we will be able to have some resources come back into our already stretched educational institutions to be able to train more,” he said.