The Executive Director of the Ghana National Service Scheme, Vincent Senam Kuagbenu, says the formation of the Association of Unemployed Graduates should challenge Ghanaian universities to refocus their programmes to produce employable graduates. He says universities across the globe are mobilizing their human and intellectual resources to tackle community problems such as combating poverty, improving and restoring environmental quality and are engaged in conducting researches that are helping solve serious problems in their communities and Ghanaian universities must take a cue. In what appears to be a no-end-in-sight-yet debate over his criticisms and demand for the justification of twelve million Ghana cedis (GH¢12,000,000.00) paid as Research and Book Allowance to university lecturers, whom he also accused of recycling their lecture notes over the years, Kuagbenu says the universities refuse to reform at their own risk, but more importantly, at great costs to national development. In a rejoinder to various publications and commentaries following his comments, the NSS Executive Director says it is nearing a decade since the Anamuah-Mensah Committee established under the Kufuor administration made reforms recommendations in the nation’s education system. He says the Committee examined the challenges of education and how they would respond to the national development goal of poverty alleviation and wealth creation and was of the view that the philosophy underlying the education system in Ghana should produce well-balanced (intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically equipped) individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, values and aptitudes for self-actualization and for the socio-economic and political transformation of the nation. Among other recommendations, he points out that the University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology were to “re-examine their mandates in view of the advances in knowledge and changing demands in the economy”. The University of Cape Coast was to re-visit its original arts, sciences and agriculture. The University of Ghana according to the report, should consider moving into the areas of applied arts and sciences; whilst the enrolment of students to KNUST should reflect the emphasis on science disciplines in accordance with the norm of 90:10 ratio of sciences to humanities. Other recommendations were that all tertiary institutions should formalize collaboration with industry and other relevant sectors of the economy in the development, design and delivery of relevant programmes and in the review of the content of the courses in existing programmes, and were also to dialogue with industry, including the Association of Ghana Industries, Ghana Employers Association, Chamber of Mines and Ghana Chamber of Commerce with the view to formalizing relationships to promote practical training for both staff and students, while each university was to introduce entrepreneurial skills as a core subject for all students in order to encourage graduates to enter into self-employment. But almost a decade on, he wonders how far have we come as a nation and “Which of these recommendations are being implemented by the universities?” He says “…out of a total of 63,578 graduates that have registered to undertake their National Service duties this year, only 12,255, representing 19.28% have graduated with science and science related-programmes. One would agree with me that the most critical areas needed to push our economic and industrial growth as a developing country (science and technology) is not receiving the needed attention from our universities.” “The Ghana National Service Scheme is concerned because of the challenges it faces in deploying personnel who study programmes that have no direct relation to the demands of industry. The Scheme also supports Faculty. Each year over one thousand National Service Persons are deployed to the universities to support teaching and learning. Thus, the Ghana National Service Scheme is a major stakeholder in the education enterprise. “It is also a fact that universities survive through its active and strong ALUMINI, but if people complete universities and are left unemployed and frustrated, how will that benefit their Alma Mata?” See the full article by the NSS Executive Director