Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum Criticises Some University Programmes as “Degrees to Nowhere”

Former Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has criticised some university programmes in Ghana, describing them as “degrees to nowhere” that fail to equip graduates with skills relevant to the country’s labour market.

Speaking on the Konnected Minds podcast, Dr. Adutwum argued that some higher education institutions are prioritising student enrolment over national development by offering programmes that do not align with the country’s workforce needs. According to him, universities should base their admissions and academic programmes on labour market assessments to ensure graduates have clear employment opportunities.

The former minister cited programmes such as Development Studies at the University for Development Studies (UDS) and BA in Education (Non-Teaching) at the University of Ghana as examples of courses he believes offer limited career prospects. He disclosed that while serving as Education Minister, he publicly questioned the relevance of such programmes and encouraged universities to review them.

Dr. Adutwum recounted that after criticising the Development Studies programme, the Vice-Chancellor of UDS informed him that a student had withdrawn from the course. He maintained that the decision was in the student’s best interest, insisting that universities should focus on programmes that lead to meaningful employment and contribute directly to national development.

He further argued that graduates of some programmes complete their national service only to face prolonged unemployment because their qualifications do not match available job opportunities. According to him, universities should not introduce or maintain programmes simply to fill classrooms and generate revenue through tuition fees.

Dr. Adutwum called on the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to strengthen oversight of academic programmes and ensure they are aligned with Ghana’s labour market demands. He pointed to countries such as India, where targeted investment in workforce-oriented education has supported growth in sectors like information technology, as examples Ghana could emulate.

He concluded by stressing that addressing graduate unemployment requires a comprehensive reform of the country’s education system, urging policymakers and universities to shift from what he described as “education to nowhere” to “education to somewhere.”