Every Friday in Ghana, there is a PhD graduation somewhere.
University of Ghana graduates 100 PhDs. KNUST graduates 80. UCC graduates 60. Legon, Tech, Cape Coast, all of them.
Government gives GETFund scholarship to UK, US, Germany, China – go and bring PhD. Families sell land – “my son is doing PhD in Canada.”
We have more PhDs now than we had in Nkrumah’s time. We have Dr. this, Dr. that. On Facebook, if you throw stone, you hit a Dr.
But here is the painful question Ghanaians are asking in trotro:
If our PhDs solve specific problems, why does Ghana still import solutions for every small problem?
A PhD THAT DOES NOT SOLVE GHANA PROBLEM IS JUST A FANCY TITLE
What is a PhD? Doctor of Philosophy. But in real sense, it means you have solved a specific problem that nobody solved before. You found new knowledge.
So if you did PhD in Agriculture at KNUST on “Improving Seedling Survival of Tomatoes in Drought”, after your PhD, tomato farming in Navrongo should improve. Farmers should know you. Your district director should call you.
If you did PhD in Education on “Why BECE English Fails in Rural Ghana”, after your PhD, GES should use your model in 10 schools.
But what do we see?
A man does PhD on “Post-Harvest Losses in Yam Storage in Northern Region” – 300 pages, defended, wearing gown, party with jollof. Next year, yam farmers in Gushegu still lose 40% of yam because no storage. He is now Senior Lecturer teaching theory. Farmer does not know him. Ministry does not know him.
A woman does PhD on “Low-Cost Plastic Recycling Machine” in Germany on GETFund scholarship – GH¢400,000 of taxpayer money. She comes back. Her machine prototype is in her supervisor’s lab in Germany. In Ghana, we still import plastic dustbins from China and burn plastic.
So who did the PhD help?
WE PRODUCE PhDs, WE IMPORT SOLUTIONS
Check Ghana today:
– We have PhDs in Water and Sanitation, but we import water treatment chemicals from Egypt and hire Dutch company to fix Accra water.
– We have PhDs in Poultry Science, but we import 300,000 metric tonnes of chicken from Brazil and Netherlands every year.
– We have PhDs in Computer Science, but Electoral Commission imports IT consultants from India to build simple voter system.
– We have PhDs in Road Engineering, but we import contractors from China to build Kasoa road that will wash away in 2 years.
– We have PhDs in Education Curriculum, but we import curriculum consultants from UK to write our common core.
So what is the value?
It looks like we are running a system where Ghana pays to produce problem-solvers, and then Ghana pays again to import problem-solvers from outside.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
1. Our PhD is for promotion, not for problem.
In Ghana, you do PhD to become lecturer, to become HoD, to become Professor, to add Dr to your name. Not to solve problem. Once you get Dr, mission accomplished. You frame certificate.
2. No link between GETFund PhD topics and National Development Plan.
GETFund will sponsor 20 people to go and do PhD in “Gender and Development in South East Asia” while Ghana has critical problem in “Why Tono Irrigation Dam is not working”. Who approves these topics? Where is NDPC?
Every PhD Ghana pays for should be tied to a specific Ghana problem – with an MMDCE, a farmer group, a factory waiting for solution.
3. Universities don’t demand implementation.
In Rwanda, before you defend your PhD, you must show a community or industry that is using your findings. In Ghana, you defend in front of 3 professors who ask you grammar questions. No farmer in panel. No industry in panel.
WHAT WE MUST DO
1. GTEC must change PhD graduation rule: No PhD should graduate unless there is a letter from a District Assembly, a cooperative, a hospital, or a company saying “We tested this solution and it works.” Your thesis should have two parts – the big grammar book for library, and a 5-page implementation guide in simple English and Twi for the farmer.
2. GETFund must publish list: Every year, GETFund must publish all PhDs it sponsored abroad, their topics, how much spent, and what solution they brought back and where it is working in Ghana. If you took taxpayer GH¢500,000 to do PhD abroad and you have no solution working in Ghana after 2 years, you should refund.
3. Government must stop importing what our PhDs can do: If we have 50 PhDs in water, we cannot hire Dutch to fix water. Use our PhDs. Give them contract. If they fail, then you know they are fake PhDs. But you cannot have PhDs sitting idle and still importing.
Ghana does not need more PhDs who can quote theory. Ghana needs PhDs who can fix tomato, fix poultry, fix plastic, fix galamsey.
Otherwise, we will continue to produce doctors for graduation gowns, and import carpenters to build our future.
Alexander Afriyie, supervising editor, ghanacrimereport.com and ghanatalk.com