Chief Justice calls for radical change in educational pursuit

The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, has called for a radical change in the traditional focus of all educational courses in the country.

She said the courses should be designed to teach and reflect the relevance of economic, political, financial and social underpinnings of national development strategy so that graduates are equipped to meet the development needs of Ghana.

Mrs Justice Wood made the call at the 14th congregation of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in Accra.

She said there is the need for a national development plan for tertiary institutions to be able to produce graduates that meet the skills gap required for the implementation of a national development strategy.

Mrs Justice Wood said as a developing nation requiring good structural underpinnings for advancement, there is the need to link tertiary education to all aspects of business, public policy and governance.

She said using the example of legal education and its impact on social development, the curriculum in the country should include training on how to set up appropriate legal mechanisms to prompt the restructuring of the economy and provide the legal staff to deal with foreign and international players in the areas of economic development and the environment.

Mrs Justice Wood said reforms to legal study should attempt to guarantee transparent, accountable and responsible use of the country’s oil and gas resources.

She said professional organisations like Ghana Bar Association and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice could harness their legal know how to work with civil society organisations to support structural improvements and reforms to the legislative and governance process.

Mrs Justice Wood said throughout civilization, legal professionals have helped to define the rights and obligations of the state, as well as individuals within it and the permissible and impermissible conduct of people through rules and order.

She noted that, the view today is that educational quality has been compromised in the effort to expand enrolment, adding that the phenomenon is not corresponding with elevation in funding, either from public or the private sector.

She said many developing governments believe that education is the main strategy to reduce poverty and enhance the development of the nation, yet the provision of an adequately funded strategy continues to challenge these countries.