Technical Universities in Retrospect

Recently, two voices of concern have been raised about the yet to be constituted council for recently converted technical universities. Whilst the first voice, belonging to one Mr. Foster Owusu, took the alarmist route, crying that the Government was hedging in order to revert the statuses of the universities to polytechnics, that of the former Ghana Association of Polytechnic Administrators (GAPA) was conciliatory, stating that the absence of council was hampering the smooth administration of the institutions. It also pleaded with Government to equip the technical universities with the appropriate teaching/learning infrastructure. Despite the differences, both voices struck deep chords.

GAPA’s plea is also a strong indicator that in the conversion process, the cart was placed before the horse. In other words, the change was not motivated by intellectual and human resource development for nation, as it ought to have been in an academic exercise. It was rather political-oriented. The Committee that was set up to draw the roadmap and recommend timelines highlighted the weaknesses of the polytechnic system, the biggest of which was poor investment. When it compared Technical/Vocational Education in Germany to that of Ghana, it was revealed that the latter hardly invested in learners, which was evident from the poor infrastructure and generally weak educational system and outcomes. 

In view of the constraints, the committee recommended gradual conversion, beginning from September 2016. In reality, it ought to have recommended a 5-10 year roadmap through which the nation could have prioritised technical/vocational education, equip technical institutions with current teaching /learning infrastructure in order to attract academic elements into the polytechnics. Above all, the institutions could have used the time to strengthen its intellectual activities and be equipped for the high-powered level research which is the hallmark of technical universities. Since the polytechnics were prematurely converted to technical universities, they assumed the new status with all bag and baggage.

The fact is that the polytechnic system was never really understood by a greater majority of its stakeholders in Ghana. A small minority of real technical elements like the retired Mr. Kofi Kumah-Aidoo, who superbly nurtured three Ghanaian polytechnics, did justice to the concept of hands-on training. The others just contributed to watering down practical training. Worse of all, the polytechnics are generally placed a step below the universities by those who do not know the difference, with the consequence that secondary school graduates generally opt for the polytechnic as a second choice, rather than consider it a legitimate career path. The conversion occurred amidst such severe challenges, though the nation could have committed to addressing them effectively before the change.

The conversion itself occurred under bizarre circumstances, with some polytechnics even agitating their way into technical university status. In the end, instead of the recommended gradual conversion, eight polytechnics were snowballed into technical universities. Meanwhile, the status quo remained basically polytechnic. Even though the objective was to move towards competency-based education, the large class numbers make that impossible. With government subvention always late or sometimes not coming at all, the institutions are forced to depend on internally-generated funds, which is realised through tuition, therefore, funds motivate enrolment, not academic performance or experience. Consequently, students who are not equipped for the tertiary classroom are admitted into the system, and technical university status has not changed that.  

Considering the numerous handicaps of the technical universities, should there be an inkling of truth in Mr. Owusu’s claim, the Government will not be acting in bad faith at all, even if the move might not be politically rewarding. The question is: do we really need ten technical universities in Ghana? One desires a technical university which pursues the Dresden concept or which operates on the concept of utilising natural resources for quality existence, like MIT. The excellence of such institutions stems from the fact that they constantly develop knowledge and expertise through high-powered level applied research. For example, MIT has taken language beyond human interaction; with the aid of computers, it is now exploring how the brain actually makes language. Over here, we consider research, largely for promotion, not for improving knowledge and quality existence. That stance ought to change.

The stark reality is that constituting the councils would not automatically rectify such systemic handicaps. We need to strive for the quality that has consistently eluded the Technical/Vocational Educational System. For that to happen, the nation must genuinely invest in the System. We need to combat the wrong notion that Technical/Vocational Education is for the dim-witted or academic non-performers; the right elements — the teacher and the taught — must be placed in the system. We need to convince the average Ghanaian youth that the Technical/Vocational System offers a legitimate career path. Above all, the institutions must research and design innovative approaches to offer alternative, dignified livelihood to the teeming Ghanaian unemployed youth who are daily exploited or resort to nefarious activities against law-abiding citizens. If we achieved that, then Technical/Vocational Education would be championing national and human resource development, and that should be our prime focus.