The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has challenged universities to redesign their courses to match today’s shifting global employment needs. He wants tertiary institutions to turn out graduates who can create businesses and opportunities, not just collect certificates.
Addressing guests as Special Guest of Honour at the swearing-in of Professor Eric Kwasi Ofori as Vice-Chancellor of Garden City University and during the school’s 18th Congregation, the monarch said the world was changing fast.
He pointed to AI, climate issues, health crises, economic instability and new job trends as reasons schools must change how they train students.
“This event is about more than one person. Our world is being reshaped by technology, artificial intelligence, climate change, health concerns, financial uncertainty and new labour demands. Universities must now be hubs for creativity, business, research and solutions,” he said.
The Okyenhene noted that many Ghanaian youth have the drive and ideas to launch companies, but struggle to turn those ideas into reality. “I keep asking how our universities can do more to support enterprise. A lot of young Ghanaians today have skill, grit and the desire to build their own ventures. Yet it remains tough. We need to build systems that allow young people to start and scale businesses with ease,” he stated.
He added that Africa’s growth will hinge on the calibre of graduates from its universities and their capacity to tackle real problems.“What Africa needs going forward are graduates who think critically, lead with integrity, innovate, and create jobs — not just people with degrees,” he emphasised.
The traditional ruler described education as a nation’s best long-term investment and key to progress and wealth.“From the start of my reign, I have pushed education because I believe people development is what builds strong, wealthy societies,” he said.
He used the life of the new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eric Kwasi Ofori, as an example of education’s impact. “Professor Ofori’s story shows that your birthplace does not set your limits.
Through learning, a boy from Kyebi can become a respected academic, a global scholar, and now head of a top Ghanaian university,” Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin said.
He charged universities to put more resources into research, innovation and business training so graduates can gain practical skills to transform economies and generate jobs across Africa.
