Introduction
In 2000, Ghana had a population of 18.4 million. The per capita gross national product (GNP) in 1992 was $450 and has since been hovering around $400.

History of Higher Education
By 1924, Achimota College had been established in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) to provide education from kindergarten through first-year university courses in engineering. The University College of the Gold Coast was established in 1948, and formed a special relationship with the University of London. In 1961, the University College attained sovereign university status with powers to award its own degrees.

The second institution of higher learning in the country was the Kumasi College of Technology, which was established in October 1951. The Kumasi College of Technology was upgraded in 1961 to university status and in 1998, it was named as the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The third institution, the University College of Cape Coast (UCC), was established in 1962. It gained a full university status as the University of Cape Coast in 1971. Two new universities, the University for Development Studies (UDS), and the University College of Education of Winneba (UCEW), have been established since 1992.

Enrollment
Enrollment in universities increased by 165% from 11,857 in 1991-92 to 31,460 in 1998-99 while the polytechnics registered an increase from 1,558 in 1993-94, when they were upgraded to tertiary status, to 12,926 in 1998-99, representing an increase of 730%. Within a period of 13 years from 1983-96, total enrollment in universities and polytechnics thus increased by 162%. In spite of such expansion, the enrollment rate for the 18-21 age group in tertiary education is less than 3%.

Out of a total enrollment of 11,865 at the University of Ghana for the year 2000, only 1,265 (10.66%) are pursuing postgraduate studies. At the University of Cape Coast, postgraduate students represent 6% of total enrollment.

Faculty
Although salaries of academic staff have seen some improvements during the past decade, a relatively poor salary structure still persists. Using salaries of academic staff in selected African countries the pay package for the average Ghanaian professor is about 8.7% and 10%, respectively, of her or his counterparts in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

A comparative salary analysis undertaken by a Salary Review Commission in the Civil Service and other sectors in Ghana in 1993 revealed that salary levels in sectors such energy, financial, revenue collection, and media were all higher than those of the universities. As a result, some individual researchers and departments have tended to concentrate on consultancies, which more often serve the narrow professional interest of the researcher.

Governance and Administration
Tertiary institutions in Ghana have a two-tier or bicameral system of governance. They have councils vested with overall responsibility for matters relating to finance, development, appointments, and discipline. In addition, senates or academic boards are responsible for all academic matters.

The titular head of the university is the chancellor. Until the 1992 Constitution came into effect, the chancellor was the head of state. The minister of education has ministerial oversight of all levels of education. There is a National Council for Tertiary Education that advises the minister on all matters relating to the development of tertiary education and also serves as a buffer between the government and the tertiary institutions.

Private Higher Education
In Ghana, there has been an upsurge in the desire, particularly by religious bodies, to establish private universities. By August 2000, the National Accreditation Board had granted accreditation to 11 private tertiary institutions to offer degree programs in religious and theological studies, administration and accountancy, among other subjects.

Feverish preparations are being made by the Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim communities in Ghana to establish their own universities. The advantage they have in this regard is that it is possible to introduce innovations in course design and delivery and also respond to changes in the labor market more quickly because they do not have the institutional history of the traditional universities.

Funding and Resources
Tertiary education institutions in Ghana are funded largely from government sources. Over the past decade, education’s share of the government’s discretionary budget has not exceeded 40%. On average, the tertiary education sub-sector’s share has been about 12% of the total recurrent education budget. Education’s share of the government’s approved discretionary budget for the year 2000 was $204,824,621 (32%). Of this amount, $23,870,359 (15%) was allocated to the tertiary sector.

The approved recurrent budget for universities in 1998 met about 50% of their estimated requirements. The corresponding figure for the year 2000 is 56%. In the case of the polytechnics, the improvement was significant, from about 30% in 1998 to 58% of estimated requirements in 2000. In spite of these increases, the 2000 budget still leaves serious institutional budgetary gaps.

Research and Publishing
Available data on expenditures on research and development in Ghana show a declining trend from around 0.7% of GDP in the mid-1970s to 0.1-0.2% of GDP in 1983-87. There is little or no evidence to suggest that this trend has changed. Estimates from the 2000 tertiary sector budget show that an amount equivalent to $1,392,499 (22% of its approved budget) was allocated to the University of Ghana's 10 research institutes for their operations. The corresponding figures for the 8 research institutes of KNUST was $291,375 (5.5%), compared with $102,104 (3.4%) for the 3 research institutes at UCC.

A number of research institutions, such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), and the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, are contributing to the quest for knowledge and improvement in the quality of life of the people. The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (INRA), based at the University of Ghana, is involved in fostering research capacity and advanced training.

Gender Issues
Enrollment of female students as a percentage of total enrollments increased in the universities from 21% in 1991-92 to 26% in 1998-99. The figures for the polytechnics for 1993-94 and 1998-99 were 16% and 21%, respectively. The establishment of Science Resource Centers by the Ministry of Education and the institution of a Science, Technology, and Mathematics Education (STME) clinic for girls as an activity of the Ghana Education Service have both begun to produce positive results. The training of more female science teachers to act as role models and the re-institution of remedial teaching and monitoring programs for women who apply to the universities with poor grades have also been recommended.

Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Ghana, please consult: Paul Effah, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, eds., Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 338-349.