Ghana's educational system lacks substance and essence - Rawlings
Former President Jerry John Rawlings has described the educational system in Ghana as lacking substance and essence.
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He said at a time when there were many universities, the quality of education had diminished to the extent that the higher institutions of learning were producing superficial graduates.
Former President Rawlings said although the educational system in the country had been transformed over the years, the standard had fallen with graduates becoming a liability to the economy.
That, he explained, was due to the fact that students lacked the courage to utilise and implement what they learnt in school.
Speaking at a meeting with Cuban trained Ghanaian professionals who paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra last Tuesday, fomer President Rawlings said Cuba was a shining example in the area of education, especially in respect of the training of medical doctors.
Cuban scholarship programme
Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, contributing to the discussions, said the personal relationship that existed between her husband and the former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro, made it possible for the creation of a Cuban scholarship scheme which enabled brilliant needy Ghanaian students to be trained in Cuba.
She explained that although the economy was in bad shape without an IMF and World Bank support, former President Rawlings initiated and sustained the scholarship programme.
The President of the Association of Cuban-Trained Graduates in Ghana, Mr Kofi Asafo Agyei, underscored the need for authorities to pay attention to the country's human resource development.
He said it was only appropriate to pay a courtesy call on the former President for the bold and courageous decisions he took to send hundreds of brilliant needy Ghanaian students to Cuba on scholarship despite the criticisms and misconceptions about the programme by sections of the population.
He said former President Rawlings exhibited visionary leadership by taking a bold decision to ensure that foreign scholarships could serve as a catalyst for rapid development, especially for a developing country such as Ghana.
On behalf of his fellow graduates Mr Asafo Agyei expressed gratitude to former President Rawlings and the people of Ghana for the scholarship opportunity and encouraged subsequent governments to continue the scheme.
Portions of the citations read “On behalf of all those whose lives you have touched, directly and indirectly, over the past several decades, through the Cuban Scholarship Project, we the members of the Cuban Trained Ghanaian Graduates Association (ESBECANS) would like to say a big thank you to you for making such a monumental difference in our lives.”
