Don't blame degrees, blame the economy that fails to absorb graduates — Kwaku Asare to Dr. Adutwum

Governance expert Prof. Kwaku Asare has challenged claims that certain university programmes are "useless," arguing that the real challenge lies in Ghana's political and economic systems, which are unable to create enough opportunities for graduates.

In a Facebook post that has reignited debate over the value of tertiary education, Prof. Asare took issue with comments attributed to former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, who reportedly described Development Studies at the University for Development Studies (UDS) and BA Education (Non Teaching) at the University of Ghana as "degrees to nowhere."

"Coming from a former Education Minister and a lifelong education reformer, I find those remarks, if accurate, unfortunate," Prof. Asare wrote.

He argued that graduate employment is influenced far more by the strength of the economy than by the specific degree a student earns.

"Graduate employment is determined not only, and not even primarily, by the degree a student earns. It also depends on the strength of the economy.

"A weak economy can produce unemployed engineers, lawyers, accountants, doctors, and computer scientists just as easily as unemployed graduates in the humanities or social sciences."

While acknowledging that universities should be held accountable for the relevance of their programmes, Prof. Asare stressed that accountability should not translate into dismissing entire fields of study.

Instead, he called for greater transparency through the publication of graduate employment outcomes, regular labour market forecasting and the integration of digital, analytical and entrepreneurial skills across all academic disciplines.

Prof. Asare reserved his strongest criticism for Ghana's political system, arguing that political reforms are essential to addressing graduate unemployment.

"Instead of calling degrees useless, perhaps we should focus on reforming our political parties. They were created to be engines of national development. Too often, they have become machines of patronage, profiteering, polarisation, and propaganda," he wrote.

He concluded that meaningful political and economic reforms would ultimately improve employment opportunities for graduates.

"Fix the politics, and the economy has a fighting chance. Fix the economy, and far fewer degrees will be called 'degrees to nowhere.'"