TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION AND GHANA

In recent past, the tertiary education terrain has been bombarded with the cliché of globalization. A truly globalised world would be characterized by a fluid transnational commodity and capital market. The sharing and implementation of ideas and visions would not be hindered by real and virtual boundaries. It will be a cosmopolitan world characterized by transnational competition and development. Such a utopia can only be abstracted and not realized in the world today. If the developed countries see globalization in the sense so presented, it as an abstraction of utopia, imagine how the developing countries will be seeing it.

A month ago, Webster University posted on its website that it had been accredited by the Ministry of Education of Ghana (http://www.webster.edu/news/2013/nes/07252013_ghana_accredited.html) to run an offshore campus in Ghana. The web article forwards that “Webster University has selected graduate and undergraduate programs for the Ghana campus based on interest of students and employers in the region.” Per the National Development and Planning Commission’s set directives of the country, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is going to be the major focus of education. I do believe that this focus does not factor in Sociology as a science for example. Webster says the programs were selected on the basis of demand? I wonder if the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) populace of the sub-Saharan African Region have already been absorbed by their own countries or even the region as a whole. The opening of Ghana’s tertiary education landscape to private participation has resulted in quasi-transnational education setups. University of Wisconsin International serves as the of-shore campus partner of Azusa Pacific University in California. Radford University College is in partnership with Fraser Valley, Canada and several North American Universities to offering several degree programs. Kumasi Polytechnic, Cape Coast Polytechnic are also serving as off-shore campuses for Chinese, American and Malaysian Universities. Transnational Education may not be explicitly participating in Tertiary Education landscape of Ghana, however in its quasi form, it is in abundance.

For my readers who may want to understand TNE, there is the penchant to confuse “Internationalization” of Higher Education (IHE). Whereas TNE involves the actual or virtual migration of institutions from one geographical location to the other, IHE is more concerned with the diversification of academic institution populations with a special focus on non-nationals of host countries. The operational definition of Transnational Education (TNE), according to the Council of Europe and UNESCO (2000) includes:

All types of higher education study programme, or sets of courses of study, or educational services (including those of distance education) in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based. Such programmes may belong to the educational system of a State different from the State in which it operates, or may operate independently of any national system

Transnational education is a constantly mutating phenomenon. It involves cross-border mobility depending on what and who crosses the border. According to the National Union of Students in Europe (ESIB) (2002) such education can take three forms (Hussain, 2007):

•  People mobility-based education: a person can go abroad for educational purpose
•  Programme mobility-based education: an educational programme can go abroad and
•  Institution mobility-based education: an institution or provider can go or invest abroad for educational purposes

·   Internationally, Transnational Education has been driven by economics of education to a large extent. One cannot discuss the driving force of TNE without understanding the role of student numbers and the impact on the expansion of provision outlets of higher education coupled with accessibility and equity driven policies. Hussain (2007) has explained that TNE serves different purposes in different countries. The benefits of transnational delivery include domestic capacity building, broader student choice in education systems facing resource constraints, minimizing the resources flowing out of the country, reducing brain drain, and enhancing innovation and competitiveness in the sector.

Opportunities arise for TNE in Ghana when an investor realizes that grossly, intake of qualified applicants for higher education in Ghana is just about 12% (this includes Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education). Private participation accounts for about 5% of the remaining 88% qualified applicants from the publicly funded tertiary institutions. The time for TNE is now. The inconsistent policy changes at the pre-tertiary level has resulted in a large back log of qualified applicants (Previously Unsuccessful Applicants of pre-2012, 2012,  and SHS 3 and SHS 4 graduates of 2013)  seeking admission into tertiary education institutions. Invariably, qualified demand will exceed available supply.

A TNE prospective institution faces very little if any administrative heckles as part of set up in Ghana. The simplest would be to partner an existing tertiary institution and run your programs via their institutional accreditation. This cost saving venture is characterized by one major problem; ownership and certification of the accredited program.

As a country we should be worried about widening access to higher education to respond to social demand especially when there has been little if any integration and rationalization of our higher education system whilst trying to address historical inequities. Quality Assurance is of great import where TNE is concerned. South Africa, Kenya, Chile, Russia to mention a few have been exposed to TNE and its effect, and to combat or mitigate the QA headaches associated, they have all launched initiatives which have provided their QA Agencies with diverse tasks depending on specifically identified needs areas in managing TNE. As a result QA agencies in such countries have taken to increasingly standard-based approach to contribute to the regulation of academic quality and standards.

One major challenge for a developing country seeking to engage in TNE is that of regulation. Of concern to me, as a stakeholder in higher education in Ghana is the lack of identified approaches and instruments, for the regulation and quality assurance of TNE. Regulation and QA are the most important tools for any government to make sure that TNE provision “corresponds to national policy an objective in general and that it is in line with national minimum quality standards (UNESCO 2005)”. In Ghana, there is no specific regulatory policy for international providers of Tertiary Education. The LI 1984 of the National Accreditation Board) Article 21 provides for Foreign Registration. The emphasis of this article is on an “in-country institution” seeking international registration and also more of a program oriented regulation rather than an institutional regulation.

As we walk into the muddy waters of TNE, it would serve the country better if the regulatory bodies would provide a policy guide for the country to follow until then, it would be better if our focus is on “Internationalization of Higher Education”.