Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Public or Private Good?

What is Public Good

Role of Govt in allocating resources

Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson (2011) look at two characteristics : Non-excludability (non-payers cannot be excluded

from consuming the good) Non-Rivalry in consumption (benefits to others are

not diminished because others are consuming)

Education as a Public Good

The public benefits from people getting higher education

Often earn more money and pay more taxes

Become active citizens in a democracy

Innovation generates new products and services for all

Benefits shared by participants and rest of society

Therefore, the cost of public higher education to be borne by the state Subsidies/Subventions Grants Loans

Higher Education as a Private Good

Benefits accrue solely to the individual and provides no public good

Many taxpayers who do not attend or use public funds do not benefit

Waste of public funds to support to support programmes that would contribute to graduate unemployment

Ghana’s Triple Heritage of Education

Traditional/African Education

Islamic/Arabic Education

Christian/European Education

Higher Education in Ghana: Public Good or Private Good?

Who should provide higher education? Individuals? Families? Communities? Religious institutions? Government (i.e., the state)? Non-Government Organizations?

Christianity and European Formal Education in Ghana

Formal education starts with the European Christian MissionariesCastle schools to train

children of Europeans & mulattos

Train and convert Africans

Early Missionary Schools

Akropong Teacher Training College [Boys], Akropong (Basel Mission-Presbyterian), 1848

Mfantsipim [Boys], Cape Coast (Wesleyan Mission--Methodist), 1876

Adisadel College [Boys], Cape Coast (Church of England--Anglican), 1910

Wesley College [Boys], Kumasi (Wesleyan Mission-Methodist), 1924

Ola Training College [Girls], Cape Coast (Roman Catholic- Our Lady of Apostles), 1926

St. Augustine’s College [Boys], Cape Coast (Roman Catholic Mission), 1930

Odomase Krobo Secondary School [Mixed], Krobo (Basel Mission-Presbyterian), 1938

Achimota College: Departure from Missionary

Education

Established 1924 by the Colonial government and formally opened in 1927

An elite  secondary school based on the British model of public education

Publicly-funded by Government

Interdenominational, with students and staff practicing their own denomination of Christianity.

Full Fledge Public Education

Vision – to train boys and girls to be at ease in both traditional culture and western settings.

Full kindergarten, primary, secondary, intermediate and teacher training

Engineering and external degree courses from University of London

An instrument for controlling and directing the future of the country through changing people’s behavior and ideas

Missionary Schools Cont’d Aggrey Memorial College [Mixed], Cape Coast, founded in

1940; named changed to Aggrey Memorial A.M.E. Zion Secondary School in 1947 (African Methodist Episcopal)

Holy Child Secondary School [Girls], Cape Coast (Roman Catholic), 1946

Prempeh College [Boys], Kumasi (Methodist-Presbyterian), 1949

T.I. Ahamadiyya Secondary School [Mixed], Kumasi (Ahmadiyya Movement-Muslim), 1951

Opoku Ware School [Boys], Kumasi (Roman Catholic), 1952 Holy Child Training College [Girls], Tarkoradi (Roman

Catholic), 1955 SDA Teacher Training College [Mixed], Bekwai (Adventists)

Birth of Public Universities

in GhanaAchimota College gave birth to

the first two public universities in Ghana

University of Ghana (1948)

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (1961)

Is Higher Education in Ghana a Public Good?

James Cemmel examines the broad functions of Higher Education

Research (development of new knowledge) Teaching (training of highly qualified personnel) Extension services (Working/providing services in

the community) Ethical function (Social criticism)

University of Ghana, Legon

Founded in 1948 as the University College of London to provide university education, learning, and research in the then British colony. The original emphasis was on the liberal arts, social sciences, basic science, agriculture, and medicine

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science

and Technology

Established in 1961 to provide higher education in science and technology for the technological development of the country

University of Cape CoastEstablished in 1962

with a mandate to train highly qualified and skilled teachers and administrators, especially for the Ghana Education Service

University for Development Studies

Established in 1992 as a multi-campus institution with a mission to blend the academic world with that of the community for the total development of northern Ghana

University of Education, Winneba

Established in 1992 for teacher education for second-cycle institutions

Demand for Higher Education in Ghana

UNESCO estimates that in Ghana, only 2.6% of all children who enter primary schools eventually make it to the tertiary level

Today, the demand for higher education in the country is very high resulting is a rapid increase in enrollment

Enrollments in Ghana’s national universities have increased significantly in the last two decades following the publication of the University Rationalization Report in 1988

Still, Ghanaian public universities can only offer admissions to about 35% of qualified applicants

Expanding the Structure of Higher Education in

Ghana The term Tertiary Education is adopted in 1992 in the 4th Republic

of Ghana

The new Constitution established the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE)

Higher Education expanded to include ALL post-secondary educational institutions: Universities University Colleges Polytechnics Professional Institutions

NCTE becomes the advisory body on tertiary education to the Minister of Education

A Minister of State for Tertiary Education was appointed in 2003

Ghana’s Road to Privatization of Higher Education

Under the Education Sector Reform of the country’s Economic Recovery Program of the late 1980s, private providers were given official permission to establish institutions of higher education

The National Accreditation Board (NAB) was established in 1993 to accredit both public and private tertiary institutions for contents, standards, and management

Religious organizations and individual have embarked on efforts to establish private colleges and universities

Between 1995 and 2007, the NAB has accredited 25 private universities and colleges, 70% of which are religious-based

With the exception of the Islamic University College, all of the private religious institutions of higher education are Christian-sponsored

Why Proliferation of Private Religious Higher Education in

Ghana?To increase access to qualified individuals who do not

gain admission to the traditional public universities

To provide quality and practically-oriented education in the African cultural context

To focus on Theology, Business-related, and ICT courses

To train individuals to assume leadership roles in the various religious organizations

To address indiscipline in the society

Strengthen spiritual development to counteract the excesses of Western consumer culture

Representations of Private Religious Institutions in Ghana

Protestants Valley View University (Seventh-Day Adventists) Methodist University College

African Pentecostals Central University College (International Central Gospel

Church)

Roman Catholic Catholic University College

Islamic Islamic University College (Ahlul-Bait Foundation of Islamic

Republic of Iran)

Contemporary Views on Religion and Educational Attainment

Religion and globalization combine to shape the social and cultural landscape of the country

African Pentecostal Christian groups and charismatic movements have grown dramatically and taken serious interest in the establishment of colleges. In 1993, while non-Catholic and non-mainline Protestant Christians accounted for just 16.9% of the population, they accounted for 41% in 2003

Of particular interest is the Pentecostals’ emphasis on “the gospel of prosperity” –elimination of poverty by stressing the importance of socioeconomic success

The development of skills and talents to find African solutions to the continent’s problems

The Muslim communities’ have began to embrace the interaction of Islamic and Western secular education for socioeconomic development

A variety of innovative efforts to address the issues of access and equity including summer remedial classes to prepare students to qualify for admission requirements, campuses in rural areas, flexible scheduling, and reduced tuition

Issues of Contention with Private Religious Higher Education

The meaning of secular education in religious institutions

The implications of deeply-held religious ideologies for open access and equity

The limitations of religious institution’s current focus: Theological Studies; ICT; Business Management

Little attention to Science Courses and Faculty/Student Research

Students’ funding options for private higher education

The reinforcement of class privileges offered by fee-based private higher education for the children of the wealthy and elite

The government’s response to the demand of private religious and non-religious institution for public funding

Experiences With Higher Education: The Tale of Two Formerly

Colonized Countries

Tertiary Education Strategies After Independence: Comparing Ghana & South

KoreaGhana

Slow growth of public tertiary education enrollment over the years

In the late 1980s, the government formulated a reform program including: Measures to improve the

financial sustainability of the system

Increase quality and relevance Promote enrollment expansion Permission for private sector

involvement in tertiary education

South Korea

The development of tertiary education has taken place in 4 distinct phases: Expansion of public institutions

in the 1950s with cost-sharing equivalent to 30% of expenditures,

Encouragement of private institutions with limited public funding in the 1960s (capital costs and scholarships)

Expansion of engineering and technical education to meet manpower concerns in the 1970s and 1980s

Focus on quality, R&D capacity, accountability, deregulation and performance-based funding in the 1990s.

Comparing OutcomesGhana & South Korea

Enrollment ratio for the eligible cohort has stagnated at under 2%. eligible age cohort

The enrollment ratio for the eligible age cohort has skyrocketed from 5% to 80% between 1960 and 2000

Private institutions have emerged only recently and represent no more than 6% of total enrollment.

Private tertiary institutions have proliferated enrolling 85% of the total

student population in 2000

Public expenditure has been compressed drastically from $1,200

in 1990 to $850 in 2000

Public expenditure per student has gone up dramatically from $2,700 in 1990 to $4,500 in 2000

The enrollment of students in science and technology disciplines has remained

relatively constant, at about 50%

The enrollment of students in science and technology disciplines has remained

relatively constant, at about 50%

Linkages between tertiary education and industry have been relatively uncommon

The government has actively promoted university-industry partnerships

since the late 1980s

Knowledge Is a Key Factor in Explaining the Difference Between Poverty and Wealth

Can Ghana Learn From the Korean Experience?

Language development

Science and technology

Research & development

The role of foreign aid

Family financial contributions to education

The role of industry

Ensuring access for the bright but needy

Ghana’s New Educational Reforms, 2007

According to the government White Paper, the new reform was driven by the need to:

“…review the entire educational system in the country with a view of making it more responsive to current challenges… to examine the structure of education and to discuss issues affecting the development and delivery of education, the constrained access to different levels of the educational ladder, Information and Communication Technology and Distance Education…the crisis at the tertiary educational level, with insufficient places to meet the needs of a modernizing economy…difficulties in the development of the polytechnics within the scope of higher education, and the vexed problem of sustainable financing of the whole tertiary education sector.”

Sustaining Higher Educational

Attainment in Ghana

Who are the beneficiaries of Higher Education today?

Is Higher Education, then a Public Good? A Private Good, or a Mixture?

How do we sustain funding for Higher Education?

The contemporary struggle in Ghana today is about social, economic, and political power; and how that socio-economic-political power is distributed in the society across the geographic, ethnic, religious, and educational divide.