Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has criticised former Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, over his description of some university programmes in Ghana as “useless” and “degrees to nowhere.”
Dr Adutwum reportedly made the comments during an appearance on the Konnected Minds Podcast, where he questioned the relevance of some programmes to the labour market. He specifically cited Development Studies at the University for Development Studies and BA Education Non-Teaching at the University of Ghana as examples of programmes he believed did not adequately prepare graduates for available jobs.
But in a Facebook post shared on July 5, 2026, Prof. Asare disagreed with the former minister’s position, describing the remarks as unfortunate and overly simplistic. According to him, the unemployment situation in Ghana cannot be blamed only on the type of degrees graduates hold, but must also be linked to the country’s economic performance and the failure of policy makers to create enough jobs.
Kwaku Azar argued that no university degree should be dismissed as useless, because academic programmes are not only designed to lead directly to specific jobs, but also to develop critical thinking, research ability, communication, policy analysis, problem-solving and other transferable skills.
He further noted that graduates of Development Studies can work in government, non-governmental organisations, international development agencies, policy research, consulting and development finance, while BA Education Non-Teaching graduates can contribute to curriculum development, education policy, educational technology, administration and public service.
According to Prof. Asare, the real challenge is not to attack entire academic disciplines, but to reform the economy and improve the connection between education and labour market needs. He called for stronger curriculum reviews, labour-market forecasting, publication of graduate employment data and the introduction of more digital, analytical and entrepreneurial skills across university programmes.
“Fix the politics, and the economy has a fighting chance. Fix the economy, and far fewer degrees will be called ‘degrees to nowhere,’” Kwaku Azar stated.
His response has added to the growing national debate over graduate unemployment, university curriculum relevance and Ghana’s broader economic direction. While Dr Adutwum’s comments have sparked criticism, they have also reopened questions about whether Ghana’s tertiary institutions are producing graduates for the real needs of the economy.
For Kwaku Azar, however, the answer is not to label degrees as worthless, but to build an economy capable of absorbing the talents of young people across different fields of study.
Source: Kwabena Danso-Dapaah.
Comments
No comments yet.