University/Organization
African Studies Department
Penn State University
Pennsylvania
Title
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT: THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF GHANAIAN UNIVERSITIES RE-EXAMINED
Synopsis
This paper examines the scientific and technological contributions of Ghanaian universities to the development of the Ghanaian society and its people, since their inception in the 1960s. It argues that the Universities have failed to contribute adequately to the scientific and technological development needs of the country due to several constricting factors, including the nature of the science and technology curricula, lack of a national government science and technology policy, ill-equipped and obsolete scientific and technological laboratories, and inadequate funding. The paper suggests the need to re-examine the nature, objectives and relevance of the science and technology programs in the country’s universities to national development, in light of the pressures of the new global economy, as well as the fast changing socio-economic needs of the current and future Ghanaian society and its people.