THE ATROCITY OF GHANAIAN EDUCATION - “THE REASON FOR HUGE UNEMPLOYMENT OF THE YOUTH” Part 1

This article is to address or inform the youth about the evil the Ghanaian education system is doing to them. I write this also to encourage them that it is never too late, if they can realize the level they have fallen, in terms of practical skills, and take actions towards the effect, then Ghana will be a better place for us.

 As a youth with a lot of future aspirations, I don’t understand why thousands of people finish schooling and become a great liability to the economy of their families as well as the nation, Ghana.  If that continuously keeps being the case, then I doubt the importance of formal education especially in Ghana.  Not forgetting that, Ghana has been trying in the previous years to better its system of education but, there is a huge gap to bridge to ensure economic growth and development. To make a thorough analysis, I can boldly say, Ghanaians are theoretical and a great book long.

Ghana's educational system emphasizes mostly on reading and writing. We can all bear witness to the highest level of judgement that, from the early stage of education (KG) through to Primary, Junior High School, Senior High School, University and even at the Masters level as well as Doctorate level, the teachers and lecturers comes to class or lecture halls make a theoretical presentation on board, the learners are asked to make a written presentation through examination just to test their understanding of the subject matter and assessment is awarded and that ends the case, yes that is it,  just that!

 All these are to inculcate in us only the spirit of reading and writing not keeping us equipped with the practical aspect of the studies. No wonder most Ghanaian don't bring out inventions.  I can’t even remember during my Junior High School education when I was able to have a physical feel of the things I studied. Let’s take a subject like Agricultural Science, Ghana is one of the countries in the world highly endowed with agricultural resources but we go to the class to sit down, learn how to cultivate a crop while we are never even sent to a backyard garden to cultivate plants as we have been taught in books to have a practical feel of it. This, the practice, even widen the knowledge base to give a good theoretical presentation if we are asked to do so because we have a practical feel of how the process went about and so understanding is sharpened and it will be deeply rooted in our memories . This is what we call education - being able to practice whatever you study.

People don’t understand why there is a lot of educated people in the country but poverty is at its peak and ruining the life of people. According to the writer of the book “Think and grow rich” by Napoleon Hill which is revised and expanded by Dr Arthur R. Pell, when we talk about knowledge, it is of two kinds. One is general, the other is specialized.  General knowledge, no matter how great in quantity or variety it may be, is of but little use in the accumulation of money. The faculties of the great Universities possess, in the aggregate, practically every form of general knowledge known to civilization. They specialize in teaching knowledge, but they don’t specialize in the organization, or the use, of knowledge.

Knowledge will not attract money unless it is organized and intelligently directed through practical plans of action to the definite end of accumulation of money. Lack of understanding of this fact has been the source of confusion to millions of people who falsely believe that ‘knowledge is power’. It is nothing of the sort. Knowledge is only a potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action and directed to a definite end. This ‘missing link’ in all the systems of education known to civilization today may be found in the failure of educational institution to teach their students how to organize and use knowledge after they acquire it.

Over the years and currently, a lot of people have been complaining a lot concerning how they can organize knowledge into action to earn a living but it seem impossible. All these originated from the knowledge based education they received without knowing how to practice it. I have been asking several graduates and most companies why new recruits have to go through extra training on the job before starting their main work and their answers are that, they lack practical skills. Although theoretically or knowledge base, they are good and even the lectures have the slogan ‘What is done at the field is different from what we study’ but we are train to be master in all, why do you feel responsible to waste somebody's lifetime at school to teach the person what is entirely different from or very old than what is done in real life. 

To be continue...................

Thank you

Isaac Agya Koomson.

(CEO of EKSEL consult)

Agaster2008@yahoo.com

0241332246.