"We Have Increased School Enrolment But Not Jobs for Graduates" — Prof Aryeetey

Ghana has successfully expanded access to education but failed to build the economy that would absorb the growing number of graduates it produces, one of the country's leading development economists has warned, describing the mismatch as a fundamental flaw that undermines the purpose of successive education reforms.

Professor Ernest Aryeetey of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana told the Achimota Speaks event on Wednesday, November 11, that schools such as Achimota were established to produce engineers, agriculturists, pharmacists, doctors and administrators for the national economy. Reforms since then, he argued, have increased enrolment without expanding the sectors where those graduates are expected to work .

"We have increased the number of schools through our reforms. We have increased the number of people who go through, get enrolled in our schools. And we haven't increased the number of places where they can work," Aryeetey said.

Stagnant Manufacturing, Missing Farms

He singled out manufacturing as the clearest example of the disconnect. "Manufacturing throughout this period has remained stagnant. There are no new factories coming up. Why are the engineers going to work? If you go to university and you get a degree in electrical engineering or mechanical engineering, whatever, why are you going to work? There are no factories," he said.

Agriculture fared no better in his assessment. Graduates trained in modern farming techniques, including at institutions like Kwadaso, find few modernised farms where they can apply what they have learned. "The number of farms that are supposed to be modernising, they are not there," he said.

The consequences extend beyond individual job searches. Aryeetey questioned the logic of investing in education reforms when the returns are so uncertain: "If you are the headmaster of Achimota School and people come to your school, they perform decently, can't go to university, and those who go to university after three, four years of getting a degree, spend another three, four years looking for a job, what incentive is there to pursue all of these reforms?"

The Data Behind the Warning

Aryeetey's remarks are borne out by labour market statistics. Among Ghanaians aged 25 to 34, university graduates face an unemployment rate of 10.7 per cent, compared with 4.4 per cent for their peers with less education — graduates are more than twice as likely to be jobless . The African Development Bank estimated Ghana's overall unemployment at 13.1 per cent in 2026, with youth unemployment at 32 per cent .

The problem is not a lack of graduates willing to work. A 2026 study on graduate unemployment in Ghana described graduates spending years searching for jobs, often confronting employers who demand prior experience for entry-level roles . The mismatch is structural: the economy is not generating the kinds of jobs that a rapidly expanding education system was designed to fill.

Reforms Without Jobs

Aryeetey's critique connects to a broader argument he made at the same event about how education policy is made in Ghana. He said many reforms have been driven by the personal preferences of officials impressed by systems they encounter abroad, rather than by evidence of what Ghana's economy actually needs .

The government's current education agenda has focused heavily on infrastructure and access. A US$300 million World Bank-financed project aims to construct 10 new secondary schools, rehabilitate 150 others, and eliminate the double-track system . The 2026 budget included provisions for 600 new school blocks and three new public universities . These investments address real deficits in access and facilities.

But Aryeetey's point is that building more classrooms and enrolling more students will not deliver development if the graduates emerge into an economy that cannot employ them. His prescription is not to stop investing in schools, but to tie education planning to industrial policy — to build the factories, modernise the farms, and expand the productive sectors that give education its economic purpose.

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Reporter's note: Professor Aryeetey's remarks were delivered at the Achimota Speaks event on November 11, 2026. The graduate unemployment figures cited are from ILOSTAT data for Ghana (2025) and the African Development Bank's 2026 Economic Outlook. The government's education infrastructure commitments are as announced in the 2026 budget and the World Bank-financed secondary education project.