Kofi Asare of the Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), an Education Policy Research and Advocacy Organisation, has lamented on the quality of graduates produced nowadays by our colleges and universities in Ghana.
According to him, he wonders how some graduates obtained first class Honours but still find it difficult to demonstrate proficiency in English and Maths.
What Does It Mean to Graduate with First Class Honours?
A First-Class Honours Degree is awarded to a student who has achieved results between 85% or above during his years at the university.
However, in our society, First-Class honours degrees are widely regarded as a respectable, impressive, and advantageous achievement to acquire.
In a post shared on his official Facebook page on Friday, 1st April 2022 he wrote;
"Sat on two panels in the past ten days in search of one staff for a client but still unsuccessful. I must admit that, the most difficult challenge facing industry is the quality of labour. The quality of labour market entrants is just another pandemic.
Very disappointing seeing graduates with honours struggle to demonstrate basic proficiency in English, mathematics and ability to think critically. Sometimes I wonder how some got their First Class honours.
If you have committed and trainable youth who can write and speak average English, do simple arithmetic, exhibit basic proficiencies in word & excel, and can exercise good discretion, take good care of them and help them improve. "
He ended by saying that there is No where cool.
What’s The Root Cause?
Is it because we believe too much in obtaining certificate with good grade rather than competencies?
In our educational system, we put too much emphasis on the grades and by extension certificates rather abilities, competencies and talents. Right from the BECE level all we think of is the grades so students adopt Any means possible to make the grades and at long last, they suffer when they face reality on the ground.
By: Michael Djan
French Tutor and Digital Marketing Blogger/Content Writer and GhanaWeb Professional Reporter/ frencheducationgh.com