Ghanaian Private Higher Education Providers: Are they becoming Endangered Species

Abstract

Ghana’s quest to improve higher education provision and respond to high demand for higher education resulted in reforms in the sector in 1993. Through this, the Higher Education sector was liberalized and allowed individual entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations to invest in the sector by setting up higher education institutions (HEIs). Ghana government’s data put private higher education institutions’ (PHEIs) number over 90. They are a mix of national, international institutions and are secular and faith based. PHEIs play a vital role in Ghana’s higher education system. They complement the efforts of public HEIs to absorb the increasing number of high school leavers seeking higher education every year. Nonetheless, current statistics show that PHEIS share of gross tertiary enrolment is on the decline. Given the main source of funding of PHEIs in Ghana comes from student fees, are they becoming endangered species in the higher education space in Ghana? This study examines how sustainable the operations of PHEIs are, within the context of declining enrolment via Resource Dependency Perspective. Through desktop review of articles that focus on Ghana’s PHEIs and interviews of purposely selected 15 key informants (including Presidents, Vice Presidents, Registrars, and Accountants) of PHEIs and an academic auditor connected to Ghana’s National Accreditation, this paper investigates the viability of the academic operations of PHEIs in Ghana. It provides indicative realities of operational viability and long-term sustainability of PHEIs in Ghana based on the dynamics of students’ enrolments, funding, affiliation policy, staffing and innovativeness. We conclude that PHEIs in Ghana could become endangered species in the near future with implication of exacerbating the pressure on the public purse to meet the ever-increasing demand for higher education, and the increasing unemployment rate in the country. Going forward, we recommend that the Ministry of Education should initiate a national dialogue on the viability and sustainability of PHEIs in Ghana.