Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
A Level 200 student of the African University College of Communications (AUCC), Priscilla Quaye says the Ghanaian education system does not prepare students to venture into entrepreneurship.
She posits that the Ghanaian youth have not been made critical thinkers as the education system expects students to just ‘chew and pour’ and nothing more.
Reacting to the speech delivered by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta at the graduation ceremony for students of UPSA, where he urged them to pursue entrepreneurship and not chase after government work, she stated, “Ghanaian students and the youth have not been trained to pursue entrepreneurship. We have not been trained to be critical thinkers and if government can refine our education system to start training us to be critical thinkers and innovators, then we can enter into entrepreneurship.”
The passionate student noted that the statement from the Finance Minister has dampened the hope of much Ghanaian youth because the ruling government promised to create jobs for the youth. “Now we have all heard what the government is telling us. They now say we start our own businesses.”
She argues that the government is spending a lot of its revenue to pay civil servants, with fewer public sector job openings because “there are old people who are beyond pension still at post and government payroll also full of ghost names and this is not helping us.”
Background
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has urged fresh graduates from the various tertiary institutions to find innovative ways of becoming entrepreneurs.
According to him, that is the only way the rising unemployment rate in the country can be reduced.
He said it will help reduce the over-reliance on the government for jobs, and also reduce the burden on the government’s payroll.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Mr. Ofori-Atta explained that 60% of Ghana’s revenue is spent every month on the payment of salaries of public sector workers.
“That payroll is full because we are spending some 60% of our revenue on remunerating some 650,000 people. That is not sustainable.”
He told the graduating students: “…You have the skills set to be able to do what you have to do. Our responsibility as a government is to create the environment and the macro stability, currency stability and ensure that you have access to the relevant skills and financing.”
He also said government is structuring its budget to focus on how to support the youth to create their own jobs.