Ghana’s Private Universities Face Extinction Risk Without Urgent Policy Support – Accra Metropolitan Lecturer Warns
Miss Naomi Borley Alabi, a lecturer at Accra Metropolitan University, has warned that Private Higher Education Institutions (PrHEIs) could face extinction if current government policies continue to sideline their contribution.
Miss Alabi points out that despite making up over 80% of Ghana’s tertiary institutions, private universities enrol just 11% of students, a sharp fall from 20% in 2012.
Speaking on Equity at a Crossroads: Rethinking Private Provision in Ghana’s Higher Education at a major higher education policy forum at the University of Oxford, UK, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Miss Alabi, who is also the Deputy Chief Executive of the Ghana Tourism Development Company, said the current state of private universities is not due to a lack of value. They have often proven to offer smaller classes, uninterrupted academic calendars, and greater access for women, working adults, and rural students.
But they are being squeezed out, by delays in accreditation, lack of funding, and policies that favour public institutions, leaving them underused and under-supported.
Miss Alabi, a lawyer by profession, calls this the “Equity Displacement Effect”, a situation where government efforts to increase access unintentionally leave out the very schools best placed to offer inclusive, flexible education.
She warns: “If left unaddressed, Ghana risks losing a sector that can complement, not compete with, public universities.”
Her message is clear: support private universities now, or risk shrinking the space for equity and innovation in Ghana’s higher education.
She offers some auspicious proposals that could turn the situation around. These include the government recognising private higher education as a public good; providing fair access to student loans and research funding; creating employment outcome tracking for all universities; and reforming accreditation pathways for faster, fairer approval.
Miss Alabi calls on stakeholders to rethink higher education together, stressing that Ghana needs both public and private universities to thrive.
The forum was held under the theme Access and Geopolitics: Next Steps in Tackling the Equity Crisis in Global Higher Education. It was organised under the auspices of WAHEN, CGHE, and SKOPE.
