This year’s event which was on the theme "Education for national development: The role of Academia, industry and development partners" was organised by the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research (IIR) of the university.

Participants included academia, policymakers, security agencies, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

The Vice-Chancellor of UDS, Prof Gabriel Ayum Teye, explained that the university has been using the annual conference as a platform to draw policymakers attention to development challenges facing Northern Ghana.

He acknowledged the contribution of individuals and institutions towards the organisation of the conference, and called for more support to ensure the initiative was sustained.

Education reforms

In a speech read on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, by the Technical Advisor in charge of Tertiary Education at the ministry, Dr Eric Nkansah, he said the government had embarked on strategic reforms in the sector to make education a key driver of growth and sustainable development in the country.

According to him, the new reforms and policies would help reposition the sector to churn out employable and empowered graduates to spur socio-economic transformation, adding that legal, institutional and regulatory framework would be put in place to enhance the governance system and efficiency in education service delivery.

Dr Adutwum further said the country's current gross tertiary enrolment ratio (GTER) was 20 per cent out of the set target of 40 per cent by 2030, indicating that the nation was making a steady progress towards the realisation of the target.

While commending the UDS for organising the programme to discuss pertinent issues on education, the minister urged them to come out with recommendations to enable the government make informed decisions on education.

Abandonment of projects

The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, a civil society organisation, Mr Kofi Asare, who spoke on the topic: "De-politicising education policy in Ghana: Our collective responsibility", bemoaned the phenomenon of abandoning education projects by successive governments.

He also urged stakeholders in the sector to speak against the politicisation of scholarships, recruitment and procurement, while calling for an independent advisory body to ensure strict compliance of education strategic plans and reforms.