Prof Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, Director General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), has announced that tertiary institutions will be re-accredited based on the job status of its graduates.
He stated that the new initiative, which would be implemented next year, will require educational institutions to take on the responsibility of producing graduates who can find work after school.
“We are making sure that people should be able to account for the graduates that they produce in terms of employability.
“That is why we are making employability a requirement for reaccreditation…It has never happened, but we are seriously working towards it.
“You need to be accountable for the people that you churn out. If the people you are churning out within five years are not being placed within the job market, then it means you are not fit for purpose and it means that you are not contributing to the economic development of this country,” Prof Jinapor said.
He was speaking in Accra at the opening of the two-day African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF) workshop.
The ACQF is an educational initiative supported by the European Union (EU) that is being implemented in 20 African countries.
Its goal is to make African education relevant, so that students graduating from various schools would have certifications that could enable them to find decent jobs in Africa and Europe.
Prof Jinapor explained that the current tertiary education system was unable to make students employable after school, which is why the GTEC has opted to tie institution reaccreditation to student employability.
He pointed out that many people with degrees are unable to find employment, which could compromise national security.
Prof Jinapor stated that the GTEC determined that holding institutions of higher learning accountable was a way to salvage the situation.
He stated that before they can be reaccredited to continue operating the school, the institutions should be able to account for how many of their students’ secured jobs after school.
“It is about time that we call institutions to account for whatever they are doing. You cannot just produce people and they go out there and you do not know what they are doing,” he said.
Madam Martha Anna, European Union Representative, stated that the Union was committed to support Ghana achieve its goals of providing quality, equitable, and relevant education through GTEC.
She pledged that the EU would help GTEC implement measures that would provide graduates with employable skills.
GNA
