In theory, humans have the capacity to achieve the highest through education (Smith, 1999). Further, education leads to improved economic performance (more so than the other way round (Earle, 2010)). This has positioned education to be on the driver’s seat of development-the mindset of an economy and schooling the unit of economic transformation of communities. Therefore-in the lens of the best and valued practices of the West and South and East Asian countries including China and India- with the skills and values acquired through education, these advanced capitalist nations have developed their own unique, contextual and relevant independent development models. These independent models have provided a clear direction of the two key sectors of their economy: education and economy with implications on other sectors of their economy to achieve the kind of quality education that have paved way for growth with development-technological transformation of their economy to achieve structural and economic transformation and prosperity paradigm of industrialisation.

1.1 Fundamental flaw and caveat in Ghana’s development.

Consequently, Ghana Seven Year Plan for Development, 1964 defined education, science, technology and innovation in clear terms to address the problems in Ghana. And yet, in the light of development theories and scholarship, and further in the lens of the best and valued practices and experiences in the West and South and East Asian countries including China and India and again in the lens of 219 years economic evolution of Ghana (1800-2019), Ghana has achieved the kind of quality education that for decades have made Ghana’s development to have suffered from the lack of indigenous, contextual and relevant development model. Ghana in a linear, deterministic and mechanistic way has strictly pursued a dependent model of development to marginalise the country in technology and productivity. Therefore-the fundamental flaw and caveat in Ghana’s development have been the absence of a clear direction of the two key sectors of Ghanaian economy: education and the economy that will create the  synergy to achieve the kind of quality education in Ghana that will make education and training and skills human resource development significant inputs into Ghana’s industrialisation to put the country on a prosperity paradigm of a new growth model- growth with development-technological transformation of Ghanaian economy to achieve structural and economic transformation and prosperity paradigm of industrialisation.

For example- Ghana at Independence (1951-1966), on the eve of Independence, 6^th of March, 1957, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the First President of Ghana had provided a clear vision for Ghana as a system of education based at its university level would study concrete problems of tropical world to produce scientifically-technical minded people for a rapid development of the country with many scientific and technological institutions established in the 1950s and 60s. And yet, theoretical and empirical literature posits that these were desired for their own sake and not necessarily as significant inputs into the industrialisation process in Ghana (Aryeetey & Kanbur, 2017). The implication of this was mass unemployment among school leavers (Foster, 1965). Workers Brigade was used as stopgaps to address the unemployment problems in the country. The question has been that with the expansion of education and skilled manpower not significant inputs into Ghana’s industrialisation how could the country at its university level produce scientifically-technical minded Ghanaians?

In the post-independence era (1967-2019) this fundamental flaw, caveat and problem in Ghana’s development have remained unaddressed leading to the growing joblessness and graduate unemployment problem that have become a national security threat in spite of the government recent stopgaps in 2018. The stopgaps had included Builder’s Corps and other cost-effective mechanisms in the Free Senior High School (SHS) Policy to recruit teaching and non-teaching staff and other established institutions to ameliorate the graduate unemployment situation in Ghana.  

1.2 The Depth of the low quality education in Ghana

The problems in Ghana suggest the depth of the low quality education in Ghana since any country that has achieved quality education will not experience the kind of problems experienced in Ghana. This includes post harvest loses, sanitation problems and myriad of problems in Ghana. Ghana is a land of rich natural resources (cocoa, cashew, gold, diamond, salt, bauxite, limestones, iron ore, manganese, oil, gas and lithium) but most Ghanaians are in grinding poverty. Resources in Ghana have been actively used but used in a way which benefits the dominant States and not Ghana in which the resources are found. Bauxite, an ore and the main source of aluminum was first discovered in Ghana in 1914. Ghana has bauxite reserve that could last for more than a century. This has positioned Ghana as one of the largest exporters of bauxite but in a raw/unrefined form. And yet, the country has no refinery plant and most companies in Ghana export the raw materials.  Modern gold production in Ghana started more than 100 years ago. There has also been the problem of Ghanaians developing an ‘assaying plant’ or refinery to add value to the gold produced in Ghana. And yet, technology of smelting and refining of gold in Ghana and the gem of technological innovation in Ghanaians were demonstrated as far back in 1800 when gold smith technology was discovered with the use of alkaline salt derived from the ash of dry maize stalk. This creative knowledge of the Ghanaian communities has not been drawn on by education, science, technology and innovation in Ghana to develop Ghana’s technology and refinery- for example to add value to the bauxite worth of US$50 billion in its raw state form in Ghana to attain its full potential value of US$400 billion. Raw manganese which included gold, diamond and other minerals have been supplied to companies in the dominant states since 1915 to date, first by rail, and now by heavy trucks. In Finland, under an industrialised education system, the young University of Oulu drawing on the creative knowledge and ingenuity of the communities has transformed the small rural community of Oulu into a high-technology zone. The question arises as to what has happened to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Zuame Magazine in Kumasi in the Ashanti region, just a stone thrown. Consequently, as pointed out in my previous write up, the NPP (National Patriotic Party) government in Ghana with a growth as high as 8 percent without oil in 2008 as against 3.7 percent in 2000 and 8.5% in 2017 as against 3.7 percent in 2016 with oil, the problem has been how to make Ghanaians to feel the expected impact of this economic improvement in their pockets. Further, will all the investment in education and the skills and values acquired through education in Ghana, it is difficult to tell a time in Ghana history since Independence in 1957 when the country has experienced a boom to pay its debt. Ghana economy has changed little with little value addition since Independence in 1957. Ghana’s growth and development path-therefore has been growth without development. The empirical question has been who is promoting this kind of quality education in Ghana to achieve growth without development in Ghana? And why?

Therefore-in the absence of a clear direction of education and Ghanaian economy, the bigger question has been that Ghana is transforming tertiary education in Ghana to achieve what? The education strategic plan, ESP, 2018-2030 (education policy in Ghana) has been developed and is being implemented to achieve what? Performance Agreement Contracts in the education sector in Ghana to achieve what? Is it to achieve growth with development or growth without development? The rhetorical question has also been transforming teacher education in Ghana to achieve what?

 In South Korea-for example there is a clear direction of the two key sectors of their economy: education and economy that have helped the country to achieve the kind of quality and effective linkage of their education and economy in particular in the productive sectors of their economy (industry). The implications of this have been that whereas in the case of Ghanaian worker, an extra year of education in Ghana will increase output by 2 percent, in the case of a worker in South Korea an extra year of education in South Korea will increase output by 12 percent (UNIDO, 2010). Further implications have been that South Korea on this new growth model, theoretical and empirical literature posit that on the average, Ghana GNI/per Capita since the 1950s had averaged US$ 20 compared to South Korea which had been US$545. Further implications of this have been that Ghana on this pace of development, it will take Ghana more than 500 years to achieve South Korea’s per capita income. Consequently, the literature opines that among Ghana’s peers such as Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore, with income per capita at around US$450 in 1960, and economic dependent on the production of primary products, these countries have pursued an independent models of development that have put them on prosperity paradigm of technological transformation of their economy-growth with development to achieve structural and economic transformation of their economy to significantly transform into industrialised economies. Income per head in Singapore has hovered around US$51, 413; South Korea at US$29,115 and Malaysia at US$59,623 compared to Ghana at just around US$1, 512.

2.0 The Free SHS Policy in Ghana and One District, One Factory

Quality education is therefore not a universal concept but with multiple perspectives and understanding. The focus and understanding of quality education achieved in a particular country may differ from another country. In Ghanaian context, my understanding of quality education will  be the Free SHS Policy in Ghana and the Government Flagship Programmes- for example one district, one factory positioned to fine-tune the education system in Ghana to redraw the map of learning in Ghana to achieve the kind of quality education that will produce the best scientists, engineers, technologists and creative genius in other disciplines in the academic field to give Ghana the best engineering techniques in road construction, the best technology in infrastructure development, housing, waste management and development of refineries to add value to the raw rich natural resources in the country. Quality education that will also produce context dependent knowledge in Ghana- what will work and will not work in Ghana-to produce Ghana’s technology.  The industries in Ghana will use the technology developed to diversify, make new, better, cheaper and quality products to export the products the best the world could offer. This kind of quality education in Ghana cannot be achieved without a clear direction and path of education and the economy to position the Free SHS Policy in Ghana to drive and make a ‘big push’  into Ghana ‘s flagship programmes, one, district, one factory and industrialisation to achieve growth with development-technological transformation of the Ghanaian economy.    

3.0 Getting the basics right in Ghana

We need-therefore-first and foremost to get the basics right in Ghana- build a national consensus on a blueprint economic policy in Ghana-technological transformation of Ghanaian economy-to derive a clear direction of education and Ghanaian economy which will have implications on other sectors of the economy to achieve this new growth model in Ghana. This will lead and guide the development of development plans/frameworks, education reforms, education strategic plans, curriculum, performance indicators, budget and performance contracts including political parties manifestos to achieve the kind of quality education in Ghana that will put Ghana on this new growth model-technological transformation of Ghana economy to achieve structural and economic transformation, add value  to the rich natural resources of the country, more jobs and  fruitful employment, fuller and more fruitful life, improvement of national wellbeing, position export as engine of growth of the economy to increase foreign exchange reserves and revenue to achieve stability of the Ghanaian currency and an improved economic fundamentals to improve the quality of life, standard of living and wellbeing of Ghanaians.