Weekend Insight: How a Broken Education System Holds the Nation Back——Let’s be honest, some weekends come with tough truths. And this one? It reminds us that Ghana‘s biggest problem might not be ignorance at all. It might be “the educated” people doing the wrong things, and getting away with it.
There’s a video by Rusangu University SDA Church going around this week that hits hard. You see a villager, simple, uneducated, yet full of integrity, refusing to let something shady happen. And then you see the other guy: educated, well-dressed, speaks polished English… and he’s the one cutting corners, gaming the system, doing what he knows is wrong.
It makes you pause. Because in this country, we worship degrees. We clap for titles. But what’s the point of education if it just makes us better at stealing?
Let’s not pretend: most of the money Ghana loses every year doesn’t disappear because a farmer miscounted maize. It disappears in air-conditioned offices, with suits, ties, PowerPoint slides, and signed documents. Ghost names on payrolls. Contracts inflated to five times the real cost. Deals with hidden kickbacks. And who’s behind it? The educated. The ones we trusted to know better.
Education is supposed to fix problems, not fuel them. But today, it’s often just a tool for climbing the ladder, getting ahead, and collecting benefits. We’re churning out more graduates, but not always better citizens. Some of the same people who sat in classrooms learning ethics are now at the center of corruption scandals, messing up budgets that affect schools, roads, hospitals, and businesses.
And it’s not just theory, it hits our wallets. Poor roads drive up transport costs. Messy school systems mean kids get half-baked education. Dodgy energy deals mess with businesses. The whole economy feels it. While the rich few live large, the rest of us are stuck dealing with the ripple effects.
Then you look back at that villager. No flashy credentials. No big job. But he’s honest. He knows one thing: don’t take what isn’t yours. Simple, right? Yet somehow, that’s the lesson many of our educated folks skipped. Or ignored.
@rusanguuniversitychurchPr. Evans Manjimela Part 3 | Beyond the Bare Minimum #rusanguuniversity♬ original sound – Rusangu University SDA Church
So here’s the big question this weekend: what exactly are we using education for? Are we building people with real values, or just smart people who know how to cheat the system without getting caught?
Because if we’re serious about growing our economy and building strong businesses, we can’t leave character out of the equation. It’s not enough to be book-smart. We need backbone. We need heart. We need people who care about more than just their own gain.
Ghana doesn’t lack brains. It lacks boldness; the kind that says, I’ll do the right thing even when no one’s watching.
So take this weekend to reflect. Not just on your degree or job title, but on what kind of person you’re becoming. The kind who builds, or the kind who quietly breaks things behind the scenes?
That’s the kind of education that matters. The one that shapes character, not just careers.
