The Archbishop of the Kumasi Archdiocese of the Catholic Church, Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong, has questioned the Ministry of Education’s decision to employ only PhD holders as lecturers for the country’s universities.
He asked government to rethink the decision as it would deprive the institutions of experienced lecturers needed to train the human resource required for the development of the country.
According to him, academic qualification is not an index of scholarship “nor is it an indication of the ability to impart knowledge”.
Reacting to the Ministry’s decision, Most Rev. Sarpong said, “on the face of it, a PhD degree indicates knowledge and experience in at least research and that the person with a PhD is able and capable of teaching in the university.”
However, there are dozens of PhD holders who are awful teachers.
Besides that, there are few lecturers currently in the country who possess PhD degrees, adding that there are so many examples both in Ghana and outside, of great lecturers who nurtured and trained the best brains the world has ever had but are not PhD holders.
While not disputing the usefulness of the PhD degrees, the Arch bishop cautioned that, ” their importance should not be allowed to eclipse the irreplaceability of efficiency, performance, pedagogical excellence and devotion to duty.
