UDS, others Sanctioned

The National Accreditation Board (NAB) has sanctioned Jayee University College and Datalink Institute, both private-owned, to cease enrolment in all their programmes for the 2015/16 academic year.

The University of Development Studies, a government-owned tertiary institution, was also directed to cease fresh admissions to its Bachelor of Education in Health Science programme for 2015/16.

Information available to the B&FT indicates that Datalink Institute was directed to cease fresh admissions due to overcrowding and poor physical facilities, while Jayee University College was also sanctioned due to a myriad of issues and deficiencies identified by auditors.

The University of Education, Winneba -- the mentoring institution, is expected to provide close supervision of the students already enrolled in Jayee University College's programme until they graduate. This, according to NAD, is to ensure the students do not lose out on quality delivery.
Jayee University College has a student population of close to 1,000, and was affiliated to the University of Education, Winneba, in 2004.

The Institute was accredited by the National Accreditation Board to run a 3-year Advanced Diploma in Journalism (with options in Sports Reporting, Political Reporting, Environmental Reporting, and Economic Reporting) and Business Administration (with options in Accounting, Secretaryship and Management, Public Relations and Marketing).

In 2008, the National Accreditation Board re-accredited Jayee to run 4-year degree programmes. The NAB has in recent times been sanctioning tertiary institutions that are underperforming and lack the accreditation to deliver quality education. The Board recently cited Ghana Institute of Languages, Legon, and Ghana School of Survey and Mapping, Accra, as being among 49 unaccredited institutions operating in the country.

The majority of unapproved tertiary schools are in the Greater Accra Region with 32, followed by the Ashanti Region with eight, and Brong-Ahafo, Western and Central Regions having three each. The Northern and Volta Regions each have one identified unaccredited institution, with none in the Eastern, Upper West and East Regions.

Employers complain about the quality of graduates at all levels of education, with some decidedly giving preference to Ghanaians who have schooled abroad. The price of the crisis in education will be a major constraint on the country’s ability to accelerate economic development.

The major issue confronting the tertiary education sector in the country is the ‘unemployability’ of its products.

"We have a paradox of insufficient intake space (that is the proportion of the age 18-24 group at the tertiary level) co-existing with graduate unemployment. Of course, this graduate unemployment situation is partly because the economy is not generating enough jobs, and only partly because of the quality of education being offered in terms of employable skills -- such as analytical and critical reasoning, communication skills, ICT competencies, work ethic and entrepreneurship," the IMANI Forum of Education said in its recent statement on the State of Education in Ghana.