University education in Ghana: A privilege or a right?

Abstract

The study seeks to explore the cost of university education in Ghana. The rationale is premised on the fact that education is a human right which must be accorded to all humans regardless of their socio-economic status. Therefore, the present study at hand details the challenges of accessing higher education in Ghana and students' coping strategies. Qualitative research methodology with interviews, focus group discussion and auto-ethnography was employed as major instruments for data collection. Document review was used to understand the cost of pursuing university education in Ghana. The results indicated that majority of students who enroll, persist and graduate in Ghanaian universities are economically advantaged students. These students are beneficiaries of high quality education coupled with good resources in the urban areas from primary education. The plight of majority of Ghanaian population who depends on agriculture in rural areas with less quality of education is rare in Ghanaian universities. Moreover, there are government financial support systems for the needy students such as Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) but this financial assistance has its own challenges which impedes greater accessibility. From the findings gathered, it can be concluded that university education in Ghana is more of a privilege than right. In the light of this, the study suggest that stakeholders and educational legislators in Ghana should develop feasible policies that considers the economically-disadvantaged students who qualify for university education but unable to access it due to inadequate resources.

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