A scene during the TaTU student demonstration
Ghana has made significant progress in higher education, with some universities achieving international standards in teaching and research.
The 2024 Times Higher Education University Rankings for sub-Saharan Africa placed the University of Ghana and Ashesi University in the top 10. The University of Ghana ranked fifth, and Ashesi University ranked ninth, both performing well in ethical leadership.
In comparable rankings, the University of Cape Coast and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are frequently recognised for their quality education, research, modern facilities and environmentally sustainable campuses.
However, this level of excellence is overshadowed by a more pressing issue: the significant infrastructure disparity between Ghana’s flagship universities and the others, particularly technical universities. In terms of infrastructure, Ghana has some excellent universities, but also some subpar ones.
Tamale Technical University: The Breaking Point
The recent student riots at Tamale Technical University (TaTU) are a microcosm of a failing higher education system, characterised by massification, declining government funding, inadequate or outdated infrastructure, and poor governance and management. On September 16, 2025, what started as a peaceful protest against fee hikes and inadequate infrastructure escalated into violence?
Students, feeling marginalised by a perceived lack of proper management, clashed with police, resulting in injuries and temporarily upending academic activities. However, the core of the students’ frustration extends beyond rising fees and poor infrastructure. Their demands highlight poor governance, management, and the deteriorating state of campus infrastructure among many universities in Ghana.
This includes dusty, unpaved roads that create a dusty atmosphere, dilapidated lecture halls, and unhygienic washrooms on campus and in student residences, which are both unusable and a source of public embarrassment and health risks.
Student leaders at TaTU have observed that despite paying development levies for years as part of their school fees, they have yet to see significant improvements. In a Joy News report, a student lamented that there has not been a single project on campus initiated by management since they were admitted. In a university, the place meant to inspire, teach, and nurture future leaders, students are left to study in a state of disrepair.
Such conditions are not only undignified but also hazardous. Beyond health risks, learning in such an environment cannot produce the calibre of workforce Ghana requires for its progress. A university is intended to provide students with the opportunity to develop their ideas. As such, a graduate who defecated in the bush throughout their university education is as dangerous as the complex challenges facing our development.
A National Problem, Not an Isolated Incident
The recent spectacle at the Tamale Technical University is not an isolated case. Many of Ghana’s universities lack basic infrastructure, including lecture rooms, working toilets, reliable water, or even offices for lecturers. The situation is more challenging in some of our technical universities.
The transition from polytechnics to technical universities, while well-intentioned, was not matched by the funding required for world-class facilities such as those I experienced in Germany. Instead, a generation of students has been left with broken promises and a stark reminder that policy reforms alone do not create quality higher education.
The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), established to address these deficits, has yet to bridge the infrastructure gap fully. Many university campuses remain sights of incompleteness for several years after they were established. While some institutions have modern, well-maintained campuses, others, such as TaTU, are in a state of neglect.
This disparity is more than a matter of aesthetics; it is a barrier to equal opportunity, practical learning, and the nation’s aspirations for economic transformation through skilled human capital. Some graduates from these universities are emerging confused due to the environments in which they acquired knowledge.
The Way Forward: Action, Not Promises
The time for incremental reforms and excuses is over. Ghana cannot build a world-class workforce with third-class facilities. The events at the Tamale Technical University should be seen not merely as a local disturbance by students but as a national call to action.
I was happy to see the Minister for Education meet the student body and make some promises. While I believe he will take the steps to ensure TaTU sees the required improvements, here are other things I want him to consider:
- Equitable and Targeted Funding: The Ministry of Education, GETFund, and Parliament must prioritise infrastructure investments in under-resourced institutions. This must be a reform programme that targets explicitly underfunded universities to achieve a certain level of development in all aspects. Annual budgets should allocate more funds for fixing roads, upgrading lecture halls, laboratories, and building decent washrooms, especially in universities outside Accra.
- Transparency and accountability are crucial. All fees paid by students must be clearly reported, with regular updates published, and students should be actively involved in the oversight process. Funds allocated for infrastructure must not be lost to bureaucracy, profligacy or mismanagement. The Ministry of Education and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission must ensure that all universities publish their financial statements for the benefit of students and the public. Many questionable expenditures in our universities require strict scrutiny. The total annual income of some universities indicates that better results should be expected.
- An Exceptional Culture of Maintenance is Required: Universities must develop maintenance plans for their facilities, rather than waiting for them to deteriorate. Routine repairs, landscaping, and cleanliness should become central values on every campus.
- Partnerships for Progress: The government alone cannot close the gap. Corporate sponsorships, alumni donations and public-private partnerships can help finance hostels, laboratories and libraries, as demonstrated in some of Ghana’s most successful universities.
The TaTU Riots Must Drive the Transformation of Ghana’s Higher Education Landscape
For Ghana to achieve its vision of educational excellence and economic transformation, no student should be disadvantaged by their campus location.
The recent riots at the Tamale Technical University are not an isolated incident but a sign of widespread frustration and neglect. Leaders, policymakers and university managers must keep their promises by building and maintaining campuses that offer safe, inspiring and engaging learning environments. We have a duty to ensure that poor campuses do not hinder the academic ambitions of the next generation.
Author: George Kwadwo Anane, PhD (george.kwadwo.anane@gmail.com)