Lack of quality education challenges youth development – Lecturer
Dr Ransford Gyampo, a Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon, has noted that two broad challenges facing the youth are lack of quality education and unemployment.
He said successive governments were culpable for not fully promoting youth interest in areas such as employment generation and the provision of quality education.
Dr Gyampo was speaking at a roundtable on the theme: “Empowering the Ghanaian Youth for Sustainable Development,” in Accra on Thursday.
The event organised by the Institute of Democratic Governance was to provide governments, youth, civil society organisations a continental framework to address the rights, duties and responsibilities of the African youth.
It was also to provide parameters for the development of national youth policies, programmes and strategic plans geared towards youth empowerment and development.
He said the excessive politicisation on the educational system, lack of adequate and definite policy on education, particularly the number of years to be spent at the pre-tertiary level and other factor remain serious hindrance to quality education.
Dr Gyampo said according to the African Youth Charter, every young person shall have the right to participation in all spheres of society; however, youth participation in Ghana is only confined to voting.
“Youth representation and participation in parliament is purely accidental and cosmetic,” he added.
Dr Gyampo said in Ghana, the youth in parliament do not represent youth interest and most of them are not fully mentored to be able to effectively participate in parliamentary deliberations.
He said youth participation is very weak to the extent that even programmes meant for the youth like the National Youth Policy and the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency are elite prescribed.
Source: GNA