Why Academia Must Wean Itself of Partisanship
Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has sounded a clarion call for educators and educationists in the various universities of Ghana to abstain from partisan politics.
His Majesty sees an inundated benefit the State can reap from the various universities which he described as the “storehouse of knowledge, the laboratory for research, cultivation and discovery of answers to the social and physical needs of society.”
These time-tested abilities held by universities, he indicated, are not realized in Ghana due to partisan politics which has entangled academia.
“Beyond the personal relationship between teacher and students, there is an even greater link that needs to be strengthened. The University is a storehouse of knowledge. All the knowledge is required for nation-building. More than the storehouse of knowledge, the university is the laboratory for research, cultivation and discovery of answers to the social and physical needs of society. You will be aware of how much the works of universities inform policies that have shaped countries, revolutionized countries and societies through time.”
“Unfortunately, in our country, there is hardly any evidence of a meaningful collaboration that exists between the State and the universities. Perhaps one reason the role of academia has been dampened is that they have allowed their basic political divisions to permeate our sacred campuses…It is time in my view for all of us to wake up to the negative impact this has caused and make an effort to reverse the situation… For this to happen, however, we will need Academia to wean itself of gross partisanship and enshrine the culture of great opportunity,” he added.
Collaboration
Otumfuo further called for collaboration, between the Academia, the State and players of industry in the formulation of policies.
“We can begin fashioning a new relationship between State and Academia that engages the expertise of academia in the process of policy formulation on a continuous basis. I have no doubt about how beneficial it will be for the country to create a unique group of professors from Academia, business leaders, traditional leaders and government tasked to address the seemingly retractable problems of the economy. This could be the beginning of continuous collaboration between academia, the state and captains of business in finding solutions to many of our social problems.”
Additionally, he said the collaboration will allow the universities to establish the right mechanism for rigorous and continuous evaluation of the performance of the nation’s institutions and help inject some efficiency into the system in the spirit of collective responsibility.
Otumfuo was speaking at an event where he was honoured with a doctorate degree by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in the Central Region on September 5, 2024.
