Over 1 Million Solutions To Our Problems Locked Up In Our Universities’ Libraries

A recent visit to one of the prestigious universities’ library sent shivers down my spine. I was in search of a book which led me to a locked up cage, fully packed with research works of graduates from that Department. I glanced through a reference book listing topics researched by these graduates and like a bolt out of the blue, almost all the topics were linked to problems and challenges this country is currently facing. What could I do? Just shook my head and questioned the librarian, “Are we serious as a country?”

It is undisputed fact that researching is the backbone of development. One major distinguishing factor between developed and undeveloped countries is their level of inclination toward research works. While the former give apt attention and value to research, the latter disregard and considered it as paltry.

Solution to every problem comes through research. It is through research that jobs are created, economic activities increase and the nation experiences growth. This indicates that upsurge of unemployment, decline in economic growth and development are absolute indicator of how poor our commitments are toward research works in this country.

I have come across several research works placed in a cold storage which had the potential of providing solutions to sustainable and effective ways of mobilizing internally generated funds at various MMDAs, improving waste collection and sanitation, turning waste products into useful resources, improving customer services and satisfactions, enhancing crop productivity, achieving quality education, just to mention a few. Just think of the numerous jobs these research works could have fetched for this country if serious attention and resources are spent on them. Recently, there had been a call from the Department of Chemistry, KNUST, appealing to the Electoral Commission to used indelible ink manufactured by the Department for the registration and other electoral exercises. I won’t be surprised if their appeal is turned down but let’s imagine the positive impact of EC using our own manufactured indelible ink for electoral assignments.

University education in this country has become a mere formality. The pride associated with being a graduate in today’s Ghana is synonym to a wooden nickel, nothing to boast of. The university education refined, reshaped and reformed graduates to solve the challenges of this country. As part of their education, each comes out with a research work targeting solution to a major problem in this country. With trusted lectures and professors, research works are well supervised and go through series of processes before approved by the authorities of the universities. This is the pride of the graduate, not only to come out with certificate of completion but to see the results of his/her research work solving problems and challenges in this country. What happened to these hard earned works full of tears and endless sacrifices? Locked up in the libraries because government disdained them.

An interaction with a friend brought to light the brain behind free scholarships to study abroad offered by foreign nations to our students. He stated that they are interested in the research findings which are offered by our students of which when integrated into their economic system produce 10 times the value of the total cost of education which was offered for free. Many Ghanaians who studied abroad can boast of how their research works had contributed enormously toward the development of these foreign countries. There is no way these foreigners can beat our students when subjected to the same learning conditions. The only difference is that they have learnt to value research work which build great pride in their graduates to contribute enormously toward nation building. For the past ten to fifteen years, our universities and other tertiary institutions, both public and private, had produced over 1 million graduates indicating over 1 million news ideas and solutions to improve and solve problems as well as creating jobs in this country. Till we give value and serious attention to the research works of our graduates, all efforts and resources spent in our university education will fall flat.

What do we do? We need an institution which will coordinates all research works carried out by students and translate them into the development of this country. Also, all the various agencies and departments in this country have to forward areas of problems and challenges facing their sectors to this institution to be researched by students. The education ministry together with various authorities at our universities need to team up and develop a system which will link research works in our various universities to solving problems and challenges in this country. It is time we prove to the world that the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.

What a pride we would boast in this country to see students’ works solving problems at various sectors and sections of this country! Great would be the graduates from our universities. Also, the standard of our universities would be competing with the likes of Harvard, Cambridge, etc. Again, our professors and lecturers would be exceptional. The solutions to our problems are found in researching and nothing else.

Till then, the message is simple, let’s stop relying on politicians to solve our problems and join hands together to improve research activities at our various universities to solve our problems.

Jeffery Amo-Asare
[email protected]