News:
March 11, 2026
A Ghanaian lawmaker has issued a strong call for West African nations to urgently overhaul their educational systems, warning that a reliance on certificates is failing the region’s youth and its economies.
Hon. George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, Chairman of the joint ECOWAS Committees on Education, Science and Culture, Health, and Telecommunications & Information Technology, argued that the region must pivot from “credential-oriented systems to competency-driven frameworks.”
Speaking at the opening of a delocalised meeting of the Joint Committees in Lome, Togo, he emphasized that to unlock a demographic dividend from its youthful population, education must be embedded with digital literacy, green skills, and entrepreneurial thinking at all levels.
Bridging the Gap Between Training and Opportunity
The meeting, held under the theme “Strengthening curriculum alignment with socio-economic needs of the ECOWAS Region,” served as a platform for lawmakers to dissect the growing disconnect between education and employment.
Ricketts-Hagan painted a stark picture of the current reality: “The sub-regional labour markets are shifting faster than our curricula,” he said. “The widening gap between training and opportunity creates a troubling paradox: vacancies without skilled applicants and graduates without jobs.”
He described this as a “structural disconnect” between what is taught in classrooms and what regional economies demand. This misalignment, he noted, is exacerbated by rapid technological disruption, high youth unemployment, and climate vulnerability.
A Call for Radical Reform: TVET and Industry Partnerships
To address this, Ricketts-Hagan proposed a multi-pronged strategy focused on making education a driver of economic transformation, rather than a follower.
· Strengthen TVET: He called for the immediate strengthening and institutionalization of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
· Partner with Industry: He urged for continuous curriculum reviews developed in partnership with the private sector. “Education must not merely follow economic transformation, it must drive it,” he stated. “This requires structured, continuous dialogue between Ministers of Education and Labour, alongside private sector leaders and academic institutions.”
· Build an Adaptable Workforce: He stressed that when education aligns with the needs of agriculture, industry, and the digital economy, it builds a workforce that is both adaptable and competitive.
The Urgent Question Facing Policymakers
The Chairman posed a critical question to his colleagues and stakeholders: “Are our curricula designed to equip learners with the adaptability, emotional intelligence, and ethical grounding required to succeed, or are we merely preparing them to pass examinations?”
He declared that the answer to this question would be the benchmark by which the success of any educational reform is measured. He added that the task ahead requires evidence-based policymaking, significant investment in teacher capacity, and the integration of emerging technologies.
“As Chairman of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture, I can assure you of our unwavering commitment to placing education at the heart of our socio-economic transformation,” Ricketts-Hagan concluded.
The delocalised meeting in Lome is expected to produce key recommendations for harmonizing educational standards across the ECOWAS region to better meet the demands of the 21st-century economy.
By Kwaku Sakyi-Danso / Ghanamps.com
A Ghanaian lawmaker has issued a strong call for West African nations to urgently overhaul their educational systems, warning that a reliance on certificates is failing the region’s youth and its economies.
Hon. George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, Chairman of the joint ECOWAS Committees on Education, Science and Culture, Health, and Telecommunications & Information Technology, argued that the region must pivot from “credential-oriented systems to competency-driven frameworks.”
Speaking at the opening of a delocalised meeting of the Joint Committees in Lome, Togo, he emphasized that to unlock a demographic dividend from its youthful population, education must be embedded with digital literacy, green skills, and entrepreneurial thinking at all levels.
Bridging the Gap Between Training and Opportunity
The meeting, held under the theme “Strengthening curriculum alignment with socio-economic needs of the ECOWAS Region,” served as a platform for lawmakers to dissect the growing disconnect between education and employment.
Ricketts-Hagan painted a stark picture of the current reality: “The sub-regional labour markets are shifting faster than our curricula,” he said. “The widening gap between training and opportunity creates a troubling paradox: vacancies without skilled applicants and graduates without jobs.”
He described this as a “structural disconnect” between what is taught in classrooms and what regional economies demand. This misalignment, he noted, is exacerbated by rapid technological disruption, high youth unemployment, and climate vulnerability.
A Call for Radical Reform: TVET and Industry Partnerships
To address this, Ricketts-Hagan proposed a multi-pronged strategy focused on making education a driver of economic transformation, rather than a follower.
· Strengthen TVET: He called for the immediate strengthening and institutionalization of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
· Partner with Industry: He urged for continuous curriculum reviews developed in partnership with the private sector. “Education must not merely follow economic transformation, it must drive it,” he stated. “This requires structured, continuous dialogue between Ministers of Education and Labour, alongside private sector leaders and academic institutions.”
· Build an Adaptable Workforce: He stressed that when education aligns with the needs of agriculture, industry, and the digital economy, it builds a workforce that is both adaptable and competitive.
The Urgent Question Facing Policymakers
The Chairman posed a critical question to his colleagues and stakeholders: “Are our curricula designed to equip learners with the adaptability, emotional intelligence, and ethical grounding required to succeed, or are we merely preparing them to pass examinations?”
He declared that the answer to this question would be the benchmark by which the success of any educational reform is measured. He added that the task ahead requires evidence-based policymaking, significant investment in teacher capacity, and the integration of emerging technologies.
“As Chairman of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture, I can assure you of our unwavering commitment to placing education at the heart of our socio-economic transformation,” Ricketts-Hagan concluded.
The delocalised meeting in Lome is expected to produce key recommendations for harmonizing educational standards across the ECOWAS region to better meet the demands of the 21st-century economy.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso / Ghanamps.com